DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Audit Commission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many research projects the Audit Commission commissioned in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2002–03; and what the criteria for selection of each project were.

Christopher Leslie: The number of research projects commissioned by the Audit Commission during the period is as follows:
	
		
			  Research projects commissioned 
		
		
			 1 November 2001 to 31 October 2002 24 
			 1 November 2002 to 31 March 2004 26 
		
	
	Note:
	The Commission's research programme is set by financial year. Until October 2002, its financial year ran from 1 November to 31 October. The current plans cover a 17-month period from 1 November 2002 to 31 March 2004 because, subject to parliamentary approval, from 2004 its financial year will run from 1 April to 31 March to coincide with that of central and local government.
	The subject areas covered by these projects include local government, housing, health and criminal justice. The criteria for selecting each project were tailored to the needs of each particular subject area, including the need for the work to be relevant to policy needs and provide good value for money; the likelihood of improvement resulting from the project; and the need to make best use of local knowledge at the national level.

Audit Commission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Audit Commission has reached the level of the Commission for Racial Equality Standard for Racial Equality; and what percentage of local authorities in England have reached this level.

Christopher Leslie: The CRE Standard for Racial Equality is specific to the functions of local authorities and has not therefore been adopted by the Audit Commission. The policy of the Commission is to ensure that neither employees nor applicants for employment are discriminated against on the grounds of race, gender or disability.
	For 2001–02 the percentages of English authorities reaching levels 0 to 5 of the Commission for Racial Equality's Standard for local government were: 0–32 per cent.; 1–41 per cent.; 2–21 per cent.; 3–6 per cent.; 4–0.3 per cent.; 5–0 per cent.

Audit Commission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many complaints his Department has received in the last year relating to (a) the Audit Commission and (b) the average local authority in England.

Christopher Leslie: Between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received about 130 letters (not all of which were complaints) relating to the work of the Audit Commission, the auditors or inspectors it appoints, or the bodies audited or inspected. Information on the volume of correspondence received by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister about individual local authorities is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Audit Commission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many subscriptions to (a) digital terrestrial, (b) digital satellite and (c) digital cable television are held by the Audit Commission; and what the (i) cost and (ii) purpose is of each subscription.

Christopher Leslie: The Audit Commission holds four subscriptions to digital satellite television at a cost of £1,128 per year per subscription. Each subscription ensures that the commission is kept in touch with developments in news, business and parliamentary affairs relevant to the commission's work. The commission holds no subscriptions to digital terrestrial or digital cable television.

Audit Commission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many voluntary leavers there were as a percentage of staff in (a) the Audit Commission and (b) the average local authority in England in the last year for which figures are available.

Christopher Leslie: During the year to 31 October 2002 (the end of the Audit Commission's last complete financial year), the percentage of voluntary leavers from the commission was 9.2 per cent. of staff employed. Between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2002 the average percentage of voluntary leavers from English local authorities was 10.9 per cent. of staff employed.

Audit Commission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of waste was recycled and how many kilogrammes of waste were generated per staff member by (a) the Audit Commission and (b) the average local authority in England in each year since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: The Audit Commission's arrangements for managing and recycling their waste is organised locally. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The commission has adopted a number of approaches to reduce the impact it makes on the environment, including the recycling of waste and the use of stationery from recycled sources.
	Information on the amount of waste recycled and generated by local authority staff is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Business Co-ordination Unit

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the responsibilities are of the Business Co-ordination Unit; and if he will make a statement on its (a) aims and (b) performance since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: The Business Co-Ordination Unit's primary responsibility is to match ministerial visit requests from the business and wider stakeholder community with suitable Ministers. Its aims are to increase ministerial interaction with key stakeholders and customers, including business, local government, national bodies with regional interests and the voluntary and community sectors. The unit was launched in 2000 and received a Charter Mark Award for excellence last December. It achieved more than 300 ministerial visits between 2000 and 2002 that otherwise would not have taken place.

Care Homes

Janet Anderson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what council tax business rates relief is available to homes providing residential or nursing care for the elderly.

Christopher Leslie: There is no business rates relief available specifically for homes that provide residential or nursing care for the elderly. However, there are existing mandatory and discretionary rate relief available to ratepayers under the rating system and under certain circumstances homes that provide residential and nursing care for the elderly can qualify for these reliefs.
	To qualify for mandatory rate relief, the ratepayer must be a charity or a non-profit making body operating as a charity and use the property they occupy wholly or mainly for charitable purposes. Mandatory relief is available at 80 per cent. of the full rates bill, is fully centrally funded and can be topped up to 100 per cent. at the discretion of the local authority. The discretionary top-up is 25 per cent. centrally funded, and local authorities are required to meet 75 per cent. of any such top-up.
	Where the property does not qualify for mandatory relief, local authorities can consider the award of discretionary rate relief. To be eligible for consideration, the ratepayer must be a non-profit making body and the property used for social, philanthropic, educational or religious purposes. Local authorities have the discretionary power to grant up to 100 per cent. rate relief to certain non-profit making bodies. 75 per cent. of the cost of all discretionary reliefs is met centrally, with the local authority, and through them, the council taxpayer meeting the remaining 25 per cent.. However, whether or not a particular ratepayer would qualify for this rate relief would depend on whether it meets the qualifying criteria set by the local authority.
	There are no council tax discounts or exemptions available for care homes that provide residential or nursing care for the elderly. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister included provisions in the Local Government Bill currently before Parliament giving local authorities the power to grant their own discounts and exemptions. This could include care homes if the local authority wished.

Coalfield Regeneration Trust

John Cummings: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the future funding of the Coalfield Regeneration Trust.

Tony McNulty: The Coal Field Regeneration Trust's current funding agreement for England continues until March 2005. Decisions on funding beyond that date will be taken in the light of it's continued good performance and evidence of the beneficial impact of the Trust on the coalfield communities.

Council Housing

Helen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council homes have been subject to stock transfer in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Numbers of council dwellings transferring annually under large scale voluntary transfer since 1997 have been as follows.
	
		
			  Number of dwellings transferred 
		
		
			 1997–98 32,982 
			 1998–99 73,900 
			 1999–2000 97,385 
			 2000–01 134,219 
			 2001–02 35,390 
			 2002–03 167,290

Council Housing

Helen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average weekly rent for (a) council homes and (b) housing association properties is in each region of England.

Tony McNulty: Annual average weekly rent data by region can be found on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website.
	Rent data for local authorities, from 1991 to 2001, are in Table 701, which is available in the Library of the House and located at www.housing.odpm.gov.uk/statistics/live/rents/rentl-ukr-cy.xls .
	The vast majority of housing associations are Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). Rent data for RSLs, from 1994 to 2002, are in Table 703, rent data for local authorities, from 1991 to 2001, are in Table 701, which is available in the Library of the House and located at www.housing.odpm.gov.uk/statistics/live/rents/rent3-r-cy.xls.
	There are no data available from housing associations that are not registered social landlords.

Council Tax

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the level of council taxes in England in financial years (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2003–04.

Tony McNulty: Information on the number of council houses in England is collected as part of the annual Housing Investment Programme round.
	(a) The reported figure for England as at 1 April 2002 was as follows: 2,706,000.
	(b) The figure for the financial year 2003–04 will not be reported until July 2004.

Council Tax

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what contingency plans he has for consultation and legislation on transitional relief schemes in the event of a revaluation of properties for council tax purposes.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister White Paper "Strong Local Leadership—Quality Public Services", published in December 2001, said that
	"ahead of revaluation we shall devise a transitional scheme in which those who gain from the revaluation will contribute to the costs of the losers".
	The Local Government Bill contains provision for the establishment of such a transition scheme and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will consult on proposals for a transitional relief scheme ahead of revaluation. It is still far too early to say what effect the proposed 2007 revaluation will have on council tax bills and therefore what kind of transition scheme there might be.

Council Tax

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate the cost to (a) his Department, (b) the Valuation Office Agency, (c) local government, (d) other departments and (e) other public bodies of the planned revaluation of properties for council tax purposes in 2005.

Christopher Leslie: In paragraph 367 of the explanatory notes to the Local Government Bill the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister estimates that the cost of the proposed revaluation of domestic properties is in the region of £200 million including the cost of handling appeals. This is very broad estimate because the cost will be affected by the methods used and decisions on this have not yet been taken.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Janet Dean: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was spent on disabled facilities grants in each of the last 10 years in (a) England, (b) Staffordshire and (c) East Staffordshire.

Tony McNulty: The amounts spent by local housing authorities on disabled facilities grants in the years 1992–93 to 2001–02 in (a) England, (b) Staffordshire and (c) East Staffordshire are given in the table. These grants were made under section 1 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and section 101 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to private owners and tenants. Corresponding data for 2002–03 are not yet available.
	
		£000
		
			  England Staffordshire East Staffordshire 
		
		
			 1992–93 64,503 1,417 215 
			 1993–94 77,674 1,688 234 
			 1994–95 89,449 2,112 230 
			 1995–96 89,506 2,496 278 
			 1996–97 91,910 1,786 396 
			 1997–98 100,495 1,871 110 
			 1998–99 107,102 2,274 133 
			 1999–2000 116,421 2,708 168 
			 2000–01 130,707 2,594 363 
			 2001–02 145,148 2,730 464

Fire Brigades Union

John Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will ensure that members of the Fire Brigades Union will have the opportunity to vote in secret ballot on the revised pay and conditions of employment currently on offer to them; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is pleased that following further discussions between the FBU and the employers the FBU Executive has decided to recommend the employers' final offer to its members. It is for the FBU to decide whether or not to hold a secret ballot of their members on this offer, but we would welcome any decision of theirs to do so. Firefighters should be in no doubt that the employers' final offer of a 16 per cent. pay increase over three years, linked to modernisation, is a generous offer and at the absolute limit of what the employers can afford.

Firefighters (London Weighting)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many firefighters in (a) the Slough constituency, (b) the Beaconsfield constituency and (c) the Wycombe constituency are paid London weighting.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister understands from the fire authorities concerned that Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service pay the 65 operational staff based in the Slough constituency a London weighting allowance; and that Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service do not pay London weighting to operational staff in the Beconsfield and Wycombe constituencies.

Golden Jubilee Medals

John Whittingdale: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  whether he will distribute Queen's Golden Jubilee Medals to retained firefighters in Essex as soon as they are available;
	(2)  what his policy is towards the distribution of Queen's Golden Jubilee Medals to firefighters (a) who are participating in industrial action and (b) who are not participating in industrial action.

Nick Raynsford: The Government have always said it hoped that the Golden Jubilee Medals would be given to eligible firefighters by the end of June 2003 as originally planned. Minting has been completed and distribution to brigades began on 28 May. Essex firefighters will receive their medals within this timeframe. No distinction is being made between those that have, and have not, participated in industrial action.

Graduate Recruitment Scheme

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people applied for places on the local government graduate recruitment scheme; and what plans he has to expand the scheme.

Christopher Leslie: The Government are committed to building the capacity of authorities to respond to local needs and we consider the recruitment and retention of quality staff in authorities to play a key role in improving the delivery services to local people. I refer my hon. friend to the answer given to him on 13 February 2003, Official Report, column 973W.
	The National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP) is run by the Employers Organisation (EO), one of the LGA's central bodies providing services to local authorities. The scheme was launched in 2002 to fund 50 applicants for that year. It was remarkably oversubscribed with 2,350 applications. The EO has made immediate plans to double the intake for this year, and is considering how best to increase the numbers for the future.
	Of course the NGDP is not the only source of graduate recruitment available to local authorities. Seven authorities in England run their own graduate schemes. Graduates also enter local government through both general recruitment and specific programmes aimed at professions such as Environmental Health, Finance and Planning. Precise figures for these are not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

High Hedges

Christopher Chope: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 19 May 2003, Official Report, column 626W, on the High Hedges (No.2) Bill, if the guidance will be published by 13 June 2003.

Tony McNulty: Yes. Copies of the draft guidance on the High Hedges (No. 2) Bill will available in the Libraries of the House no later than 13 June 2003.

Housing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he last met representatives of the house building industry to discuss house building in England; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: My ministerial colleagues and I have met frequently with the industry to discuss issues affecting house building.
	Recent meetings with individual developers have included my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister and Wimpy on 7 April and my right hon. Friend the Lord Rooker and representatives from Berkeley Homes Group on 12 May.
	Ministerial colleagues and I also meet with industry representative groups. I met with the Housebuilders' Federation on 17 January this year and my right hon. Friend the Lord Rooker spoke at the Housebuilders' Federation annual lunch on 8 April and met with representatives from the Housing Forum on 12 May. We also have contact with the industry through larger events, for example the Regional Housing Conferences. My right hon. Friend the Lord Rooker recently toured the exhibitions and spoke at the BRE showcase for off-site manufacture at Watford.
	Officials of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also meet with the industry, both individually and in groups on a wide range of issues affecting housing, planning and sustainable communities.

Housing

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many new houses have been built in (a) Adur district, (b) Worthing borough and (c) West Sussex in each of the last six years; how many more need to be built in order to meet the Government's housebuilding targets; and by what date the houses need to be built.

Tony McNulty: The numbers of new dwellings completed in Adur district, Worthing borough and West Sussex are shown in the following table. Annual rates of housing provision are kept under regular review and are established through regional planning guidance and the spatial strategy it sets out.
	
		Number of new dwellings completed
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Adur District 62 96 144 49 54 26 
			 Worthing 58 242 81 206 80 162 
			 West Sussex 2,812 2,533 2,015 1,757 1,462 2,094

Housing

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to investigate the link between housing policy and children's health policy; and what plans there are to create a dedicated task force to investigate the link.

Tony McNulty: The Government recognise the relationship between housing conditions and health, including children's health. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is developing a plan of action on housing and health alongside the Department of Health and others. This work is a key part of our cross-Government strategy to tackle health inequalities, and the needs of children will be a very important element of it.
	To tackle poor health associated with housing conditions, the Office has set a target to bring all social housing up to a decent standard by 2010, and to increase the proportion of private housing in decent condition occupied by vulnerable groups. The number of non-decent homes in the social sector has already been reduced by about 700,000 since 1996. The Office has also set a target to end, by March 2004, the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families with children except in emergencies, and then for no longer than six weeks; and is currently consulting on proposals to make it unlawful for local authorities to exceed this six-week deadline.
	The draft Housing Bill contains proposals for a Health and Safety Rating System to establish health and safety hazards in the home as the basis for enforcing better housing conditions, with particular emphasis on the impact of these hazards on people most vulnerable to them.

Housing

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures he has taken since 1997 to provide improvements to housing in poorer inner city areas throughout the UK; and what proposals he has to regenerate these areas further.

Tony McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for housing in England only. Responsibility in other parts of the UK rests with the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced policies on the issue of housing in the Communities Plan—"Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future" and is committed to improving the quality of social housing by making all social housing decent by 2010.
	PSA target 7 reads:
	"by 2010, bring all social housing into decent condition with most of this improvement taking place in deprived areas, and for vulnerable households in the private sector, increase the proportion who live in homes that are in decent condition."
	In the 88 most deprived districts there was a decrease in the proportion of non-decent homes from 52.3 per cent. in 1996 to 38.7 in 2001.
	The National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal sets out plans for narrowing the gap between the most deprived neighbourhoods in England and the rest of the country.

Housing

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps his Department is planning to take to co-ordinate his recently announced housing plans for Milton Keynes and Multi-modal Study Paper with the emerging district-based community housing plans.

Tony McNulty: The conclusions of the independent study into the housing potential of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands area are being reviewed as part of a series of local growth area Assessments for its main settlements, including Bedford and Luton/Dunstable/Houghton Regis. These will also take into account the London-South Midlands Multi-modal Study. Bedfordshire county council and all the district authorities are represented on the Assessments steering group alongside other regional partners. This process will ensure the proposed alterations to Regional Planning Guidance for the Area, on which future district housing plans will draw, are grounded in a realistic appreciation of deliverability and ensure sustainable patterns of growth.

Housing

Richard Burden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the operation of the Housing Density Directive; how many planning applications have been refused or called in; and which local authorities are affected.

Tony McNulty: The Town and Country Planning (Residential Density) (London and South East England) Direction 2002 applies to local planning authorities in the area covered by Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (March 2001). Local planning authorities are required to consult the Deputy Prime Minister before giving planning permission for low density housing on large development sites. To-date there has been one notification. The planning application has been called in by the Deputy Prime Minister for his own determination and will be subject to a local inquiry.

Local Authority Cabinets

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether cabinets of local authorities have responsibilities for staffing matters; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: The legislation provides that local authority cabinets cannot be responsible for the appointment and dismissal of staff. A cabinet's views must, however, be taken into account when senior staff are being appointed or dismissed. No offer of appointment of the head of paid service, a chief officer, or deputy chief officer may be made where the executive leader or elected mayor has made a well founded and material objection.
	Cabinet members may be involved in staffing matters relating to assistants to political groups appointed under Section 9 of the Local Government Act 1989. Regulations also provide for a directly elected mayor to appoint an assistant.

Local Elections

Tony Wright: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what evaluation he has made of the effect of Comprehensive Performance Assessments on the latest local election results.

Nick Raynsford: A range of issues affects the results of elections, and the performance of a council will be a significant factor for many local people. Comprehensive Performance Assessments (CPAs) are now beginning to provide clear and consistent information to local people, as well as to councils and central Government, on the performance of local government. All county councils and single tier authorities were assessed under the CPA process in the past year. District councils will be assessed in the course of the next 18 months. Half of the councils which have received a CPA were subject to elections in May this year.
	The trend between the 2002 CPA categories and 2003 local government election results tends to support the view that the performance of the council has an influence on the outcome of the election. 45 per cent. of weak and poor councils where elections were held changed overall control. In comparison this happened in just 29 per cent. of the excellent and good councils where elections were held.

Local Government Finance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what evaluation he is carrying out of the impact of the new financial formula determining the Government settlement on local councils on (a) councils in the south-west region, (b) Dorset county council, (c) Poole borough council and (d) Purbeck council.

Nick Raynsford: In the following table are the changes in formula spending shares and formula grant (after floors and ceilings) for 2003–04 on a like-for-like basis with 2002–03 for the areas requested.
	
		
			  Formula spending share Formula Grant (after floors and ceilings) 
			 Area 2002–03 FSS Comparitor£ million 2003–04 FSS£ million Change£ million Percentage Change 2002–03 Adjusted Formula Grant £ million 2003–04 Formula Grant £ million Change£ million Percentage Change 
		
		
			 South West GOR 4,780.1 5,160.3 380.3 8.0 3,391.3 3,588.5 197.1 5.8 
			 Dorset 281.7 304.7 23.1 8.2 174.4 181.2 6.8 3.9 
			 Poole 117.3 125.0 7.7 6.6 71.8 74.6 2.8 3.9 
			 Purbeck 5.5 6.1 0.6 10.8 2.9 3.0 0.1 3.0 
		
	
	In 2003–04, every council received at least a 3 per cent. increase in formula grant on 2002–03 on a like-for-like basis, which is above the level of inflation.

Local Government Finance

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average council tax was for each local authority in England in 2003–04.

Christopher Leslie: The information requested is available in the Library of the House.

Local Government Finance

Janet Anderson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will review the Standard Spending Assessment of Rossendale borough council and other local authorities within whose areas there are a proportionately large number of walls, bridges, roads and culverts requiring repair and where the ownership cannot be established.

Nick Raynsford: The Government announced its intention to freeze the Formula Spending Shares methodology (which replaced Standard Spending Assessments in 2003–04) until at least 2006–07 in the White Paper 'Strong Local Leadership, Quality Public Services' in order to provide stability and predictability for local authorities. In any case the responsibility for maintaining roads lies with the highway authority, in this case Lancashire county council. The White Paper made clear that the Government would be prepared to provide additional financial assistance only in certain very limited circumstances, which would be unlikely to include repairs of this kind.

May Elections

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he has taken to increase voter turnout in the May 2003 local elections.

Christopher Leslie: Low turnout in elections is caused by a number of different factors, and no single solution will solve it. However, one of the most important ways in which we can help is to make voting more straightforward and accessible to all voters. In conjunction with the independent Electoral Commission and Local Government Association, we are promoting a programme of electoral pilots to test new methods of voting, which are aimed at increasing the opportunity for voting. These include various electronic voting techniques (including the use of the internet, telephone, SMS text messaging and interactive digital television), as well as all-postal ballots.
	At this year's local elections the 33 all-postal pilot elections recorded an average turnout of 49.5 per cent. One pilot authority achieved a 61 per cent. turnout in its pilot, while another more than doubled its turnout compared to the last comparable election. The Electoral Commission's evaluation of these pilots should provide us with more details about how they worked. Initial indications are that the new methods of voting are having a positive effect on voter turnout.

Millennium Dome

Nick Harvey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the running costs of the Millennium Dome were in each of the last six months.

Tony McNulty: Final cost figures are not yet available for March and April 2003, as English Partnerships are awaiting a number of outstanding invoices. However, EP's management, maintenance, security and staff costs 1 incurred for the six months up to February 2003 was £1.477 million. This is made up of the following monthly breakdown:
	
		
			 Month Cost (£) 
		
		
			 September 242,000 
			 October 241,000 
			 November 262,000 
			 December 253,000 
			 January 250,000 
			 February 229,000 
			 Total 1,477,000 
		
	
	These costs, and others incurred by English Partnerships since they took over responsibility for the Dome in July 2001 will be recovered from sale proceeds.
	1 Monthly costs include rates, utilities, security and maintenance, and English Partnerships' staff costs on management and maintenance of the Dome. Costs are calculated on an accruals basis and may be subject to reassessments, by the relevant authorities, of rates or other charges included in the cost of managing and maintaining the Dome.

Millennium Dome

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost of maintaining the Millennium Dome has been since its closure; and what plans he has for its future use.

Tony McNulty: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) was responsible for maintaining the Dome from its closure on 31 December 2000 to end of June 2001. English Partnerships (EP) took over responsibility in July 2001. In total £6.9 million was incurred from the Dome's closure on 31 December 2000 to February 2003: £1.9 million by NMEC from January 2001 to end of June 2001 and £5.0 million by EP from July 2001 to February 2003. EP's final cost figures are not yet available for March and April 2003, as it is awaiting a number of outstanding invoices.
	EP and MDL signed contracts on 29 May 2002, to develop much of the Greenwich Peninsula, including a new use for the Dome. The deal is conditional primarily on securing planning permission satisfactory to the contracting parties.
	On 23 December 2002 a planning application was submitted to the London Borough of Greenwich (LEG), for a 26,000 capacity arena inside the Dome, with associated facilities, and a new masterplan covering 190 acres of the Greenwich Peninsula.
	LBG's Planning Committee considered the planning application on 16 April 2003 and resolved that it is minded to grant permission subject to a number of conditions and resolution of section 106 negotiations. As part of the normal planning process, the application was referred by LEG to the Mayor and my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on 29 May 2003.

Planning and Compulsory Puchase Bill

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the transition will take place, and over what timescale, when county councils lose their strategic planning role under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill.

Tony McNulty: The proposed abolition of the structure plan function does not mean that counties will no longer have any strategic planning role. The Government expect that the expertise of counties will be an important resource in the preparation and revision of Regional Spatial Strategies and we will make regulations to prescribe counties as statutory consultees in this process. Counties will remain responsible for the preparation of mineral and waste planning strategies. Structure plans will be 'saved' for a three-year period from commencement of the relevant provisions in the Planning and Compulsory Bill unless structure plans are replaced by Regional Spatial Strategies during that period.

Planning Policy Guidance 22

David Lidington: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the level of protection for neighbouring residents against noise and visual intrusion provided by the safeguards in paragraph 47 of Planning Policy Guidance 22.

Tony McNulty: The annex on Wind Energy—including paragraph 47—in Policy Planning Guidance Note 22 contains guidelines about various factors which should be taken into consideration in relation to wind turbine location, including noise and visual intrusion. Where protection for residents against any such factors is considered necessary, assessments will be made on a case by case basis and, where appropriate, planning conditions can be attached to the planning permission.

Private Finance Initiative

Helen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council homes have been refurbished under PFI schemes since such schemes were introduced.

Tony McNulty: The first two council housing Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) contracts were signed in March this year by Manchester city council and the London borough of Islington which will see a total of 2,500 council homes refurbished. It is too early to expect any of these to have been refurbished at this point in time. Manchester let a small preliminary contract in advance of the main agreement which has resulted in 21 homes being improved.

Private Finance Initiative

Helen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities have signed contracts for the refurbishment of homes under PFI schemes.

Tony McNulty: Derby city council signed a contract in July 2000 for the purchase and refurbishment of non-council properties in its inner city area. Manchester city council and the London borough of Islington both signed contracts in March this year for the refurbishment of council properties and other pathfinder authorities are expected to sign later in the year.

Property Portfolio

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the estimated value is of the property portfolio held by his Department.

Christopher Leslie: The estimated value of The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's property portfolio excluding non-departmental Public Bodies and Agencies is £3,744,297.

Public Buildings (Disabled Access)

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of buildings owned by (a) the Audit Commission and (b) local authorities in England are suitable for and accessible by disabled people.

Christopher Leslie: Of the properties currently leased by the Audit Commission, 75 per cent. are accessible by people with disabilities. The average percentage of local authority buildings open to the public in which all public areas are suitable for the accessible to people with disabilities was 30 per cent. in 2001–02.

Regional Government

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what safeguards will be introduced to ensure that infrastructure is compatible with development in the Regional Spatial Strategy and local development scheme and plans.

Tony McNulty: Regional Spatial Strategies and Development Plan Documents will be prepared in consultation with infrastructure providers and will be subject to independent examination at which the soundness of these plans will be assessed. These two types of plans will collectively constitute the development plan. Applications for planning permission for infrastructure development will be determined in accordance with the development plan unless other material considerations indicate otherwise.

Resilience Projects

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what additional expenditure over and above that identified prior to 1 April 2002 (a) was spent in 2002–03 and (b) will be spent in 2003–04 on national and regional resilience work in the fields of (i) central response, (ii) local responses, (iii) essential services, (iv) mass evacuation, (v) warning, (vi) site clearance and (vii) threat assessment; whether arrangements exist to release expenditure during the current financial year for resilience projects currently under consideration in these fields which may be identified as requiring urgent implementation; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is fully engaged in the Cabinet Office-led capabilities programme, and all resilience work is co-ordinated within that programme. The central response capability focuses on mechanisms such as business continuity planning which assure that Government departments can function and respond effectively to a no-notice crisis. The local response capability focuses on mechanisms which allow local authorities and emergency services to plan and respond to serious disruption, while the site clearance capability aims to create an action plan for the handling of rabble and site clearance. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has specific responsibilities as lead Government Department for the regional response and site clearance capabilities, and contributes to the development of other capabilities as necessary. Under the central response capability, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister did not incur any specific additional spend during 2002–03, and has budgeted for £1 million in 2003–04. On the local responses and site clearance capabilities, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent £2,072,412 during 2002–03, and has budgeted for £4.5 million in 2003–04. With regard to the other areas the hon. Member has raised, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is either not directly involved in those workstreams or has incurred no spend.
	The capabilities that we are working to deliver have been developed to allow the Government to deal with the widest range of scenarios. Should a specific additional urgent operational need arise, at any point of the spending cycle, action would be taken to meet it. The public expenditure framework the Government have put in place provides the flexibility to deal with unexpected pressures.

Sefton Metropolitan Authority

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of buildings owned by Sefton Metropolitan authority are accessible by people with physical disabilities.

Tony McNulty: 43 out of 52 (83 per cent.) of public buildings owned by Sefton Metropolitan borough council are accessible by people with physical disabilities.

Sickness Absence

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many working days were lost to sickness in (a) the Audit Commission and (b) the average local authority in England in the last year for which figures are available.

Christopher Leslie: During the year to 31 October 2002 (the end of the Audit Commission's last complete financial year) an average of five days per member of staff were lost through sickness. The average number of days lost between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2002 through sickness per member of staff of English local authorities was 10.2.

Social Housing

Paul Marsden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people are on the waiting list to be housed in Shrewsbury and Atcham.

Tony McNulty: Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing register (excluding tenants awaiting a transfer) as at 1 April in their annual Housing Investment programme return. As at 1 April 2002 the latest reported figures are 1,335.

South West Regional Assembly

Christopher Chope: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 22 May 2003, Official Report, column 986W, what criteria will apply in determining whether the South-West Regional Assembly will receive the full £600,000 or a lesser sum.

Nick Raynsford: As part of the funding agreement, the South West Regional Assembly has produced a business plan, covering general operating costs and specific projects. It makes quarterly claims, assessed and processed by the Government Office for the South-West, for expenditure against that plan. Should projects originally envisaged in the plan not be pursued, for whatever reason, the grant paid may be less than the £600,000 ceiling.

Starter Homes

David Lepper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what categories of workers will be eligible for consideration for starter homes in the next round of the Starter Homes initiative.

Tony McNulty: From 2004–05, funding for the provision of key worker housing will be integrated into the Housing Corporation's affordable housing programme and will target key public sector workers. The Housing Corporation expects to invite bids for key worker housing schemes at the same time as bids for other affordable housing schemes, in the autumn 2003. It will be made clear at that stage which key worker groups will qualify for assistance, taking into account the advice of Regional Housing Boards.

Waste Management

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the total area of land for which planning permission for waste management purposes was granted in the years 1999 to 2003 was; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) incinerations, (b) composting plants and (c) material recovery plants that received planning approval in the years 1999 to 2002; and what their capacities were.

Tony McNulty: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Details of planning applications, and the statutory registers of decisions on them, are held by individual local planning authorities.

CABINET OFFICE

Creche Facilities

Paul Marsden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the creche facilities made available by the Office to the children of its staff.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office has a nursery at Sunningdale that is run in partnership with the Edith Rose Day Nursery. This can be used by staff in the Centre for Management and Policy Studies. They have priority over private customers on the waiting list. The charge per week is £140. This is subsidised for parents who earn less than £24,001 per annum. The nursery can also be used by parents on residential courses at Sunningdale.
	Staff in London have access during the school holidays to the Westminster Holiday Playscheme. Each place at the playscheme costs £30 a day. The Department subsidises each place by £13 a day.
	Eligible staff in all locations are able to apply for child care vouchers. These support parents to make their own choices about where and what type of child care they want for their child. Vouchers are payable over 48 weeks per annum and are for £21.42 a week for staff who work full time and either have a partner who works full time or are single parents; or pro-rata for staff who work, or who have partners who work, part-time. Staff using a subsidised nursery place at Sunningdale are not eligible for child care vouchers.
	A table showing the type of child care provision in my Department; the number of parents who used it; the cost to the Department; and the cost per head is as follows:
	
		
			 Type of childcare provision Number of parents using childcare Cost to the Department Cost per head 
		
		
			 Cabinet Office 
			 Nursery 6 £10,939 £140 per week. Subsidy of £41.50 per week for people earning less than £19,000 and £26 per week for people earning less than £24,001 
			 Westminster Holiday Playscheme 33 £3,840 £26 a day up until 25 October 2002. £30 a day from 18 December 2002. Subsidy of 50 per cent. up to 25 October 2002, subsidy of 43 per cent. from 18 December 2002 
			 Child Care Vouchers 92 £87,668.92 £21.42 week for full-time, pro-rata for part-time  
			 
			 Central Office of Information 
			 Westminster Holiday Playscheme 4 £392 £26 a day up unti1 25 October 2002. £30 a day from 18 December 2002. Subsidy of 50 per cent.

Government Services

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what representations he has received regarding the accessibility of government services via the internet.

Douglas Alexander: I have received a wide range of representations on the subject.
	The Government are committed to internet access for all who want it by 2005. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (published in April) show that levels of internet access in the UK continue to grow. 50 per cent. of the adult population are now regular users of the internet. In May, to further drive up levels of internet use, we launched the "Get Started" campaign to promote the benefits of the internet to key groups such as the elderly, those with disabilities and the unemployed.
	To promote the accessibility of websites themselves it has been Government policy since February 2001 that all new or redesigned websites meet the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative's guidelines. These are detailed in the "Guidelines for UK Government Websites" available on the Office of the e-Envoy's website or in printed copy from the Stationery Office.

Performance Targets

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the performance targets that (a) his Office, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies are required to meet; and for each target (i) who sets it and (ii) who monitors achievement against it.

Douglas Alexander: Key performance targets for the Cabinet Office are agreed as part of the Spending Review and the latest set were published in Spending Review 2002: Public Service Agreements 2003–06 (Cm 5571). The Department monitors progress towards the target along with HM Treasury and progress is reported regularly.
	The Cabinet Office has one executive agency, The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) . In addition, the Central Office of Information (COI) is a department and executive agency reporting to the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
	Key performance targets for GCDA and COI are set annually by me when I approve their Corporate and Business Plans. The targets are announced to Parliament. Key targets for 2003–04 for both GCDA and COI are expected to be announced shortly.
	The Chief Executives of GCDA and COI are directly responsible to me for ensuring that the agencies achieve their performance targets. Performance reports, including performance against targets, are submitted to me on a quarterly basis.
	Performance against targets is published annually in the agencies' annual reports and accounts. Copies of these are held in the House of Commons Library, or can be accessed via their websites: www.gcda.gov.uk and www.coi.gov.uk. COI' s performance against targets is audited by the National Audit Office (NAO). GCDA's performance against its financial target is audited by the NAO, and performance against other targets is independently reviewed within the Cabinet Office.
	The Cabinet Office has no executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), and its advisory NDPBs are included within the main departmental targets.

Quasi-autonomous NGOs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations there are in England; and how many there were in 1997.

Douglas Alexander: As at 31 March 2002, the number of public bodies sponsored by UK Government Departments that were based in England totalled 802.
	Addresses for public bodies were not collected centrally in 1997. On 1 September 1997, the number of public bodies sponsored by UK Government Departments, excluding those sponsored by the Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh Offices, the Scottish Courts Administration and the Royal Mint, totalled 846.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Commission for Architecture andthe Built Environment

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what projects the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment has been involved with in West Wiltshire.

Estelle Morris: Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has been involved with the following projects in West Wiltshire.
	Enabling a social housing scheme in Westbury with the Guinness Trust
	Design Review of a redevelopment of Kingston Mills, Bradford-on-Avon
	Design Review of Thoulstone Park Golf Club, Chapmanslade
	Design Review of Cutteridge Farm, Trowbridge
	Design Review of a Former Gas Works, Bradford-on-Avon

Institute of Sport

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made on the establishment of the English Institute of Sport.

Richard Caborn: The English Institute of Sport (EIS) is a nationwide network of world class training facilities and support services.
	The majority of the facilities for the EIS are now complete and are providing a top class training environment for our elite athletes. Most of the remaining sites will be ready for opening by the end of the year. The range of services supplied by the EIS, which spans sports science and sports medicine, is already being delivered directly to athletes and is being co-ordinated by the EIS regional managers.
	These arrangements should ensure that the EIS network provides our top athletes with the support required to enhance their medal success at the Athens Olympics.

Lottery Funding

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the average length of time was from the submission of a Lottery funding bid to (a) receipt of that application and (b) receipt of funding by distribution body in each of the last 10 years.

Estelle Morris: Information on the time taken by Lottery distributors to acknowledge applications is not available centrally. Each distributor is required to have a performance indicator on the average time taken to process applications, but the indicator can be formulated differently by individual distributors. The timing of the release of funding by distributors to successful applicants can depend on many factors including the nature of the project concerned, the terms and conditions of grant agreed between the applicant and the distributor, and the rate at which the project progresses. For many projects, a grant may be released in instalments over a period of months or years.
	The information on application processing times is not available for the lifetime of each distributor but the details provided by the distributors sponsored by the Department are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Arts Council of England 63 days 71 days 
			 Community Fund 11 weeks 12.5 weeks 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 5.6 months 7.4 months 
			 Film Council (1)— 55 days 
			 Millennium Commission (2)— (2)— 
			 UK Sport (1)— 12 weeks 
		
	
	(1) Not available.
	(2) See the following.
	
		Sport England
		
			 Performance indicator Description Programme Year Qt R1 Qt R2 Qt R3 Qt R4 
		
		
			 Average time taken to process each application Sum of working days taken for all cases completed in the period/Number of cases completed in the period Community capital 2001–02 71 70 66 82 
			 Average time taken to process each application Sum of working days taken for all cases completed in the period/Number of cases completed in the period Community revenue 2001–02 21 49 39 64 
			 Average time taken to process each application Sum of working days taken for all cases completed in the period/Number of cases completed in the period World class 2001–02 43 36 27 60 
		
	
	The Millennium Commission's work is increasingly focussed on the delivery and monitoring of existing projects rather than new applications.
	The New Opportunities Fund sets performance indicators that measure their performance in achieving their policy directions across the lifetime of each programme and are not by each financial year.

Lottery Funding

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many bids were made to and how much funding was (a) requested and (b) allocated by each distribution body in each of the last 10 years.

Estelle Morris: Information regarding awards is shown in the table, which is derived from the Department's Awards Database, which contains information supplied by the distributing bodies.
	The figure for the year 2003 is up to 1 June.
	This Department has never held comprehensive information on either the number or value of applications for Lottery grants.
	
		£
		
			 Distributing Body 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 
		
		
			 Arts council of England 236,448,607 438,569,060 348,730,571 156,693,442 171,034,631 
			 Arts council of Northern Ireland 4,307,651 7,062,937 4,740,377 10,402,112 8,622,996 
			 Arts council of Wales 9,110,844 13,770,498 27,130,278 12,925,265 16,528,332 
			 Awards for all (England) Joint Scheme 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Community fund 159,573,748 300,936,127 222,316,992 286,452,996 511,166,766 
			 Film council 0 0 0 0 2,000,000 
			 Heritage Lottery fund 107,857,356 331,742,595 482,869,443 287,154,304 217,126,985 
			 Millennium Commission 333,468,200 437,053,600 1,078,936,503 51,674,629 42,596,296 
			 New opportunities fund 0 0 0 0 93,099,315 
			 Scottish arts council 13,624,157 37,404,662 28,195,108 36,892,837 14,331,128 
			 Scottish screen 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Sport England 94,934,628 108,423,663 169,574,273 214,901,672 276,758,494 
			 Sport Scotland 14,608,885 20,287,827 14,636,987 26,653,011 17,444,590 
			 Sports council for Northern Ireland 4,574,880 6,529,998 7,618,882 10,515,805 6,267,805 
			 Sports council for Wales 4,922,738 13,494,761 18,223,262 6,971,813 4,754,354 
			 UK Sport 0 0 200,000 12,160 11,011,950 
		
	
	
		£
		
			 Distributing Body 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Arts council of England 102,495,067 169,348,066 105,417,740 1,375,292 
			 Arts council of Northern Ireland 1,522,456 3,580,320 1,662,631 170,806 
			 Arts council of Wales 11,491,739 9,593,214 7,909,221 931,738 
			 Awards for all (England) Joint Scheme 0 0 33,346,684 13,099,734 
			 Community fund 364,125,191 324,035,982 275,819,367 123,106,661 
			 Film council 14,188,552 27,552,072 28,759,193 19,431,635 
			 Heritage Lottery fund 183,800,172 252,556,164 310,038,016 118,549,168 
			 Millennium Commission 38,323,058 4,543,272 0 0 
			 New opportunities fund 87,029,281 283,286,909 398,905,082 272,354,494 
			 Scottish Arts council 14,804,013 9,735,060 3,544,944 284,786 
			 Scottish screen 3,392,911 3,361,188 0 0 
			 Sport England 295,945,174 264,803,648 142,817,084 27,701,222 
			 Sport Scotland 6,355,986 19,184,986 11,716,056 1,062,534 
			 Sports council for Northern Ireland 3,662,642 2,883,638 236,899 125,210 
			 Sports council for Wales 3,240,967 16,853,584 20,515,883 6,722,023 
			 UK Sport 23,941,847 63,927,347 10,776,350 3,608,121 
		
	
	Note:
	The Millennium Commission and Scottish Screen have not provided figures for 2002 or 2003.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the departmental Regulatory Impact Assessment procedure; and how many RIAs have been reviewed in respect of the Department over the last year.

Richard Caborn: A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) must be completed for all policy proposals that have a potential impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. It includes details of the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating policy proposals and their impact.
	Information on the number of RIAs that have been reviewed in respect of the Department in the last year is not held.
	From this year the National Audit Office (NAO) has a new role in independently evaluating a selection of RIAs. In their Annual Report, published in February 2003,the Better Regulation Task Force put forward suggestions of RIAs for the NAO to review.
	The NAO review will focus on the quality of analysis in the RIAs and the thoroughness with which the RIAs have been undertaken. The findings and recommendations of best practice will be fed back to departments. It will play a valuable part in driving up standards of RIAs.

Rural Sport and Recreation

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about the impact on rural sport and recreational plans to concentrate sports council funding on selected sports.

Richard Caborn: I have had no such discussions.

Sports Administration

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made on the establishment of Regional Sports Boards; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: Chairs of the Regional Sports Boards have been appointed in all the regions apart from the West Midlands which is still under consideration. However, the Chair of the London Board has just resigned for whom a replacement will be appointed as soon as possible. Sport England has appointed the members of seven of the Boards. Recruitment of the members of the West Midlands Board will start when a chair has been appointed and recruitment of the members of the North West Board will commence shortly following the appointment of its chair on 11 June.
	All those regions which have a Board in place have held initial meetings and made plans for future meetings. Preparation of regional sports strategies will be a priority for all of the regions as well as making strong partnerships with other regional agencies/organisations. Sport England intends to delegate funding to the Boards this autumn. Three Regional Sports Board chairs will be appointed to Sport England's Council in October.

Sports Administration

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the membership of Regional Sports Board.

Richard Caborn: The information requested is as follows:
	North East Region: Tim Cantle-Jones (Chair), Professor Chris Drinkwater, Don Robson, Chris Roberts, Tanni Grey Thompson, David Marker, Alison Curbishley, Ged Bell, Irene Lucas, Angela James, Peter Warburton, John Mowbray.
	East Region: Sir Robin Miller (Chair), Vanessa Brown, Nicholas Buckworth, Roger Fennemore, Tom McNab, Isabel Newstead, Steve Palframan, Dr. Gina Radford.
	South West Region: Ged Roddy (Chair), Marie Hunter, Maggie Rae, Professor Eric Thomas, Will Behenna, Steve Evans, Rod Carr, Phil de Glanville, Penny Spink, Colin Johnson.
	Yorkshire Region: Councillor Peter Price (Chair), Mike Twiggs, Jane Glaister, Anna Young, Malcolm Brown, Kate Birkenhead, Pat Marsh, Ashley Metcalf, Novlette Rennie, Alan Smith, William Nabarro.
	London Region: Vacant (Chair), Dr. Sue Atkinson, Councillor Lyn Brown, Professor Steve Hodkinson, Yvonne Marson, Richard Sumray, Karam Bhullar, Danny Crates, Philip Lewis, Mike McFarlane, Neil Taylor.
	East Midlands: Len Jackson (Chair), Nicholas Bunting, Mary Butler, Ted Cassidy, Karen Chouhan, Lindsey Davies, Wendi Jarrett, Jeff Moore, Patrick Nelson, Dr. Mary Nevill, Jackie Strong, Mike Turner.
	South East: Mary MacAnally (Chair), Councillor Gerry Ceaser, Brenda Chester, Rafiq Chohan, Professor Martin Elson, David Knight, Richard Leman, Paul Millman, Ben Oakley, Linda Plowright, Neil Snowball.
	The members of the North West and West Midlands Regional Sports Boards have not been appointed yet. With the recent appointment of Andy Worthington as Chair of the North West Board, the recruitment of the members will now begin. Appointment of the members of the West Midlands Board will begin once its Chair has been appointed.

Tyntesfield Estate

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the Heritage Lottery Fund has received an application from the National Trust for funds in connection with the Tyntesfield estate.

Richard Caborn: The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has not received a worked-up application from the National Trust (NT) for what they propose to do at Tyntesfield although at the time of making the NHMF award to Tyntesfield, the Board approved in principle a further grant award from HLF subject to the receipt and favourable assessment of a fully worked-up application which meets HLF's priorities. The NT is currently working-up this application in accordance with standard HLF procedures. As part of this process a series of meetings and discussions have taken place between HLF and NT staff regarding the shape, timetable and content of their bid. HLF expect to receive an application in December this year.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Quality Targets

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received regarding (a) her Department's targets for air quality and (b) the attainment of those targets.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Government objectives on air quality are set out in the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland published in January 2000 and its Addendum published in February 2003. Prior to the publication of these documents the Government consulted widely. The Strategy and summaries of responses received are published on my Department's website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/index.htm
	(b) We are on course or have already met the Air Quality objectives for five of the nine pollutants in England, namely benzene, 1,3-butadiene, carbon monoxide, lead and sulphur dioxide. Significant progress has been made towards meeting Air Quality objectives for nitrogen dioxide, particles, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and ozone. This is as a result of the measures that have been implemented to reduce emissions of these pollutants, and their precursors, particularly from road transport and industry.

Biofuels

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to prohibit the use of biofuels on set-aside land; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 June 2003
	The set-aside requirements are part of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support arrangements for the arable sector.
	The current scheme allows the growing of certain energy and other non-food crops. We believe this is a valuable flexibility in the use of set-aside land, which can contribute to wider environmental benefits.

Bushmeat

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she is taking to stop the trade in bushmeat.

Ben Bradshaw: Since March 2002, the Department has had in place a series of measures designed to tackle the disease risks posed by illegal imports of all types of meat and animal products. The number of illegal imports seized in 2002–03 rose to three times the number made in the previous year, reflecting increased enforcement activity and better evidence-based targeting.
	Additional resources for the coming years, together with the improved enforcement and intelligence capability provided by HM Customs and Excise, should ensure that this work is consolidated and built upon. HM Customs are setting up four mobile detection teams to target meat and animal products, and will be increasing the number of detector dog teams to six during the current financial year.
	Defra are also working with the Food Standards Agency and HM Customs to understand what drives the demand for exotic meats and animal products in the UK.
	In addition, under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) the UK played a key role in setting up a Working Group of Central African countries, which is due to report to the next Conference of the Parties in October 2004. We expect its recommendations to provide a valuable resource for all the countries of the region, in aiding their efforts to harmonise and strengthen local controls on the bushmeat trade.

Bushmeat

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legal action her Department has taken in the last four years against those who import bushmeat into the United Kingdom.

Ben Bradshaw: A decision to bring a prosecution before the Courts is a matter for the enforcement authority. For imports of meat covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES), this is HM Customs and Excise. For other offences regarding illegal imports of meat and animal products, responsibility lay with Local Authorities until 11 April, when this was taken over by HM Customs.
	HM Customs and Excise have prosecuted three people in the last four years for CITES offences involving "bushmeat". Two were convicted, and one was acquitted but convicted under a separate animal health charge. Data on Local Authority prosecutions for offences under other meat and animal products legislation have not been collected centrally. We are not aware of any recent prosecutions by Local Authorities for bushmeat offences.

Cartagena Protocol

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policy is on the ratification of the Cartagena Protocol on exports of genetically modified crops.

Margaret Beckett: The Government regard the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety as an important international agreement governing the handling and movement of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Once in force, it will provide a common basis for all countries of the world to take informed decisions about imports and exports of any GMOs that may affect wildlife and natural habitats. Most of the UK's obligations under the Protocol have been, or are being, implemented at European Community level. The Community legal framework for the Protocol is expected to be completed later this month with the adoption of measures governing exports of GMOs. Adoption of these measures will demonstrate that the UK is fully able to meet its obligations under the Protocol and will enable the necessary national ratification procedures to be completed shortly thereafter.

Cod Stocks

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the recent report of the International Council for the Exploration of the sea on the level of cod stocks in the North Sea, Kattegat, the Irish Sea and waters to the west of Scotland, measured against minimum recommended levels; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The report explains that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea was able to refer to new preliminary assessments for Irish Sea and West of Scotland cod but that these have yet to be properly reviewed by ICES. For the North Sea and Kattegat there was no new assessment, but some, again preliminary, indications of the abundance of pre-fishery young cod. The report concludes overall that there is no change in the perception of the stocks concerned, and they are all below recommended precautionary levels. We will take close account of this and all emerging scientific information in discussions on the Commission's recent proposals for further cod recovery measures.

Fallen Stock

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the cost-effectiveness of the new proposals for fallen stock collection compared with traditional methods of disposal, with particular reference to disposal of carcases through locally based incineration;
	(2)  what plans the Government has to incorporate existing local operators of fallen stock disposal facilities in the new scheme;
	(3)  where the facilities for collection and disposal of carcasses under the fallen stock scheme devised in response to the EU Animals By-product Regulations are based.

Ben Bradshaw: In light of the low response rate from livestock farmers to the letter inviting interest in a national scheme, the Government are now considering whether the scheme should go ahead, and if so in what form.
	The Department has not made any specific assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the proposed national fallen stock scheme against existing collection/disposal routes such as incineration.
	However, the industry estimate that with full utilisation of the scheme economies of scale would mean the costs of carcase collection could be 40 per cent. lower than is currently the case for adult cattle, and 60 per cent. lower than for adult sheep.
	The proposed national fallen stock collection and disposal scheme would be open to existing approved collection/disposal facilities, such as knackers' yards, hunt kennels, incinerators and rendering plants, although other operators could, provided they comply with the relevant legislation, also participate in such a scheme.
	Officials have arranged for a list of those premises which are currently approved by the Department to collect/dispose of animal by-products such as Fallen Stock, to be placed in the Library of the House.
	Note:
	Not all Hunt Kennels collect and/or dispose of Fallen Stock.

Local Food Chains

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what regulatory provisions local authorities can be exempted from EU procedures on purchasing in order to encourage greater use of local food chains.

Alun Michael: Public contracting authorities, including local authorities, must comply in full with UK public procurement regulations when awarding contracts for the supply of food. The regulations implement EU Directives on procurement that are designed to ensure that public sector contracts are awarded following transparent competitions that do not unfairly exclude suppliers from outside the UK. Even when the values of contract requirements fall below the thresholds for applying the Regulations the European Treaty prohibits the public sector from demanding local food. Discriminating on grounds of nationality is strictly prohibited under any circumstance.
	It is a common misconception that the EU Directives work against local producers and growers. There are legitimate ways and means for public contracting authorities to increase the opportunities that local producers have for competing for public sector contracts. One of the most effective measures is to ensure that the quality of food specified takes into account food production and processing standards that result in safe, healthy nutritious food and ensure that adverse environmental impacts are reduced as much as possible. More detailed guidance on stimulating the demand and supply of local produce can be found in Defra's Action Sheet at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustaim/procurement/index.htm

Marine Stewardship Council

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Scottish Fisheries Authorities regarding the extension of her Department's Marine Stewardship Council grants scheme to Scotland; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 9 June 2003
	I understand that the Scottish Executive will consider grants under the European Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance towards Marine Stewardship Council fisheries accreditation.

Nitrogen Dioxide (Airports)

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were exposed to nitrogen dioxide in excess of European Union limits at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted, (d) Manchester and (e) Luton airports, in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: We do not collect data for the number of people exposed to nitrogen dioxide levels in excess of the EU limit value, which has to be achieved by 2010, at the above-mentioned or any other airports.
	Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Environment Act 1995 to review and assess the local air quality in their area against the air quality objectives for seven pollutants prescribed in regulations, including nitrogen dioxide for the purpose of local air quality management. The majority of local authorities have set up their own air quality monitoring sites and where they identify through modelling and monitoring that it is unlikely that the air quality objectives will be met by the relevant deadline, the local authority must designate an air quality management area and produce an action plan setting out the measures they intend to implement to work towards meeting the air quality objectives.
	The boroughs of Hillingdon, Hounslow and Spelthorne have designated air quality management areas around Heathrow as they are predicting they will be unable to meet the air quality objective for nitrogen dioxide in 2005 (this non-mandatory deadline is five years earlier than the deadline for the EU limit value). Reigate and Banstead Borough Council have also designated an air quality management area in respect of the 2005 nitrogen dioxide objective near to Gatwick. These authorities are required to draw up air quality action plans, in partnership with the airport operators and other interested parties setting out proposed measures to tackle the problem.
	Stanstead, Luton and Manchester airports are not the subject of any air quality management aeras.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish guidelines used by his Department for considering the speed and timing of the deportation of asylum seekers once all appeals have been exhausted.

Beverley Hughes: There are no publishable guidelines or data available on how quickly removal should take The speed with which a person or persons can be removed depends on whether there are any barriers to removal and how quickly they can be overcome.
	The Immigration Service (IS) is fully committed, however, to removing from the United Kingdom, all of those who have no entitlement to remain in this country. The IS targets in particular those who have applied for and failed the asylum process and those who have not lodged an appeal within 15 working days of adverse decision.
	I am able to report that, following a series of measures, there has been a steady increase in removals performance across the board. Some 14,400 people (including dependants) were removed in 2002, representing an increase of 12 per cent. over the previous year and a 45 per cent. increase compared to 1997. Though, among other things, greater contact management with asylum seekers at all stages of the asylum process and better intelligence, we would expect this trend to continue over the coming months.
	Through close collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), planning and work is also undertaken to overcome immigration related problems with specific countries. Were necessary, this includes working with other Government Departments and the Governments of the countries where specific problems exist. Through this approach, and by drawing upon the joint expertise of Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) and FCO, measures can be identified and implemented that counter particular, and sometimes unique, problems including difficulties with delays and barriers to removal.

Cannabis Arrests (London)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests have been made in (a) Lambeth and (b) other London boroughs for possession of cannabis in the last 12 months.

Caroline Flint: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that for the period June 2002 to May 2003, 132 persons were arrested for the possession of cannabis in Lambeth and 17,329 persons were arrested in other London boroughs.

Criminal Records Bureau

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make it his Department's policy to conduct a further regulatory impact assessment on the Criminal Records Bureau to find out what impact the fee increase will have upon the voluntary sector;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the impact the increase in Criminal Records Bureau check fees will have on the voluntary sector.

Paul Goggins: As the Criminal Records Bureau moves towards full cost recovery, it has been necessary to make the increases in fees that were announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 5 June 2003, Official Report, column 27WS. We have made it clear that checks will remain free in the case of volunteers (worth an estimated value of £10 million in the 2003–04 financial year). In other cases, responsibility for paying the fee rests primarily with the individual applicant, although it is open to the employer to reimburse the cost. I will place in the Library a Regulatory Impact Assessment which assesses the impact of the fee increase for the voluntary and business sectors.

Drugs Treatment

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what protocols there are for GP intervention in the treatment of his or her patient while that patient is under a Drug Treatment and Testing Order.

Caroline Flint: The treatment element of a drug treatment and testing order is commissioned by the Probation Service working with other local joint commissioning stakeholders. No national guidance has been issued on the extent of or timing for the involvement of an offender's GP in the delivery of the agreed treatment programme, which, if appropriate, would need to be considered in the light of the particular circumstances of the agreed programme and the delivery of the National Treatment Agency models of care standards.

Extradition

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which countries do not have reciprocal extradition arrangements with the UK.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, North-East, (Mr. Ainsworth) on 20 May 2003, Official Report, column 760W.

Extradition

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been extradited from the Irish Republic to the UK in each year since 1997; and how many related to terrorist offences.

Caroline Flint: Extradition relations between the UK and the Republic of Ireland are governed by the Backing of Warrants Act 1965. These cases are dealt with on a police-to-police basis, with the extradition hearing taking place before the appropriate judicial authority. This process requires little or no ministerial involvement.
	Details of requests made to the Republic of Ireland under the backing of warrants arrangements are not held centrally.

Official Visits

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visits have been made by Home Office (a) officials and (b) Ministers to France to look at drug treatment regimes in the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The Home Office became responsible for the UK National Drugs Strategy in June 2001. No Home Office Minister or official has been to France to look at drug treatment regimes since that time. However Home Office Ministers are familiar with drugs policies and practice in France through frequent contact with colleagues there and through advice from officials and others who keep in close touch with developments.

Public Sector Workers (Assaults)

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he plans to extend the legal protection afforded to police officers assaulted in the workplace to other public sector workers;
	(2)  if he plans to establish a new offence of assaulting a public sector worker in the course of their duty; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: Assaulting a public sector worker in the course of his or her duty is an extremely serious matter, as reflected in guidelines issued by the Magistrates' Association. Magistrates court guidelines already make clear that when an assault is against a "victim serving the public", it should be considered as an aggravating factor. The Criminal Justice Bill contains provisions on sentencing and sets up a new Sentencing Guidelines Council, charged with drafting and distributing a new set of consolidated sentencing guidelines applicable across all criminal courts. The purpose of the guidelines is to ensure consistency and to require the courts to take account of all the relevant aggravating or mitigating features. The guidelines could, and we expect will, refer explicitly to the fact that if a victim was at the time of the offence working with the public, it should be treated as an aggravating feature of the crime. We have no current plans to introduce specific offences for attacks on public sector workers.

Sex Industry

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women from Central and Eastern European countries are estimated to be working illegally in the sex industry in Britain.

Beverley Hughes: A Home Office research study 'Stopping Traffic' (Police Research Series 125, published in 2000), indicated that there was intelligence to suggest that some women and children are trafficked into the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation. This was estimated at between 140 and 1,400 per year but it was impossible to make a more accurate assessment of numbers. The report concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that this was on a large scale compared with other European countries.
	Statistics collected by the Metropolitan Police's Clubs and Vice Unit suggest that up to 75 per cent. of women involved in off-street prostitution in London are non-UK nationals. Of these, 20 per cent are thought to be from the Balkans, and 28 per cent. from European countries.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Sitting Costs

Graham Allen: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what additional costs were incurred as a result of the House sitting after 10.30 pm on 16 June 2003.

Archy Kirkwood: The main additional cost is overtime for some support staff. The information about overtime worked on 16 June 2003 is not currently available, but I expect it to be minimal compared to the daily cost of running the House.

PRIME MINISTER

Ministerial Committees

Ann Coffey: To ask the Prime Minister when he will publish the list of Ministerial Committees of the Cabinet.

Tony Blair: I have today published the list of Ministerial Committees of the Cabinet together with their Chairmen, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. I will make an announcement on full membership and terms of reference in due course.

EU Rebate

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister whether the proposals discussed at the European Council on 19 and 20 June 2003 in Thessaloniki would permit a reduction in the UK rebate from EU budget contributions.

Tony Blair: The Government will not accept any watering down of decision making for EU budget contributions. We have made clear that Convention proposals to introduce Qualified Majority Voting or reduce the say of national parliaments in this area are unacceptable, and will continue to do so in the Intergovernmental Conference.

Lord Chancellorship

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the consequences his proposal to abolish the Lord Chancellorship will have on the Church of England churches for which the Lord Chancellor has the benefice.

Tony Blair: The arrangements for these appointments currently remain unchanged with the appointment of my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton as the Lord Chancellor. This will be looked at during the transitional period.

Staff Creche

Paul Marsden: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the creche facilities made available by his office to the children of his office's staff.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Minister of State, Cabinet Office gave him today.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Biotechnology

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how much her Department has spent in each year since 1995 (a) as a Department and (b) through grants to external bodies on (i) the promotion of and (ii) research into biotechnology;
	(2)  how much her Department has spent in (a) sponsorships, (b) grants and (c) other financial assistance to biotechnology companies in the UK.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 25 June 2003
	For the most recent financial year (2002–03), the Department's expenditure on sponsorships, grants and other financial assistance for the biotechnology industry sector in the UK was approximately £18 million.
	The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) spent approximately £81 million on biotechnology in 2001–02. Further information is available in the BBSRC's "Annual Report and Accounts 2001–2002".
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) expenditure on biotechnology in 2001–02 came to approximately £140 million. Further information is in MRC's "Annual Report 2001–2002".
	It is not possible to give precise information, due to the lack of a generally accepted definition of biotechnology and the differences in the ways individual Research Councils analyse their annual expenditure.
	Information about expenditure dating back to 1995 is not readily available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Broadband

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made in implementation of broadband in (a) Cleethorpes, (b) Great Grimsby, (c) Scunthorpe and (d) Brigg and Goole.

Stephen Timms: BT ADSL broadband is available in Scunthorpe and Brigg and the Great Grimsby exchange will be enabled on 20 August. Goole reached its trigger level on 25 February and is awaiting an enablement date. Cleethorpes currently has 177 registrations (70 per cent.) towards its trigger level of 250.
	Cable broadband is also available through NTL who operate in the areas of Cleethorpes, Grimsby and Scunthorpe.

Early-day Motion 1390

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on early-day motion 1390.

Stephen Timms: Subscribers should not have to pay to be removed from fax marketing mailing lists and existing regulations already give subscribers the right to opt out of this form of marketing free of charge. Under the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999, no one may send an unsolicited direct marketing fax to any subscriber who has been registered with the Fax Preference Service (the FPS) for at least 28 days, or who has previously instructed the sender not to fax them. There is no fee for registering with the FPS and this can be done by phone, fax, post or e-mail. Further information about the Regulations and plans to update them is available on: http://www.dti.gov.uk/indiistries/ecomniiinications/telecom data protection directive 9766ec.html

Electricity Industry

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she last met the regulator to discuss investment criteria in the electricity transmission sector.

Stephen Timms: My ministerial colleagues and I and departmental officials have regular discussions with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) on a range of issues, including the electricity transmission sector.
	The Transmission Issues Working Group, on which DTI and Ofgem officials sit with transmission licensees, was set up to look at the issues surrounding connecting up to 12 GW of new renewable generation to the existing transmission system and has recently reported on the costs entailed. It continues to monitor the progress of work recently started by the Scottish Transmission Owners.
	In addition, the Government continue to engage with Ofgem and industry on matters relating to the British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements (BETTA). This includes ensuring that the arrangements under a GB market will provide fertile conditions for new investment in renewables generation, a key lynchpin of our objectives outlined in the Energy White Paper.

Employers' Liability Insurance

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to publish her Department's review of the employers' liability insurance system.

Des Browne: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department published a First Stage review of the employers' liability insurance system on 3 June 2003. Copies are in the Library.
	The report identifies a number of areas for further action. We will report in the autumn on the progress that has been made and any further steps we intend to take.

Waste Management

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether in the last 24 months the Minister of State for Energy and Construction has received invitations to visit facilities which extract energy from municipal waste; how many meetings the minister has had in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003 with companies which operate waste management facilities extracting energy from waste; and how many times in each of these years the minister met the trade association responsible for waste management.

Stephen Timms: My hon. Friend, the then Minister for Energy and Construction, received a number of invitations to visit facilities which extract energy from waste, and visited CPS Civic Ltd.'s Energy from Waste plant in Sheffield in March this year. He had two meetings with companies operating energy from waste facilities during 2001, one such meeting during 2002, and two meetings during 2003. He met the Energy from Waste Association on one occasion in 2001 when he gave a speech at their Annual lunch in May 2001.

Fair Trade

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the cost to developing countries of implementation of regulations that arise from General Agreement on Trade in Services negotiations.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 25 June 2003
	The GATS process is based on a positive list, bottom up approach. Countries decide for themselves in which sectors and to what extent they wish to liberalise. Therefore, it will be for them to assess if potential costs will outweigh potential benefits. However, HMG recognises that developing countries require support in this assessment, and this is why the Department for International Development is co-ordinating with the World bank and UNCTAD to conduct research in this area, which will help inform the position of developing countries in the negotiations.

Fair Trade

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how WTO investment rules apply to (a) multinationals and (b) national Governments.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 25 June 2003
	Some existing WTO Agreements, for example, the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures, the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, contain rules which may affect the way Governments offer incentives to invest in their country or specific sectors, but these rules do not form a complete set of multilateral rules governing investment. WTO agreements apply only to measures taken by Governments or public bodies and not to multinationals. Any future agreements negotiated in the WTO are likely to be concluded on the same basis.

Gas Meters

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason data gathered from the testing of gas meters that have been reported as faulty by consumers are not published.

Stephen Timms: This is a matter for Ofgem. I have asked the Chairman to write to the hon. Member.

ISO 9001:2000

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of ISO 9000 certified companies have (a) transferred and (b) are in the process of transferring to ISO 9001:2000; and what plans there are to encourage UK companies and their suppliers to do so before the deadline.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department does not collect information on the numbers of UK businesses certified to the ISO 9000 standards but contacts with certification bodies indicate that approximately 50 per cent. of certified UK businesses have transferred to ISO 9001:2000 and a further 25 per cent. are in the process of transferring. The ISO 9000 standards are voluntary and it is a matter for the companies involved to make any changes to their quality management systems to meet the requirements of ISO 9001:2000. My Department has, however, been providing general advice on the new standard and certification bodies have been encouraging UK businesses to transfer to ISO 9001:2000 since it was adopted in December 2000.

ISO 9001:2000

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the number of companies in the UK which are ISO 9000 certified; how many are certified by UKAS accredited companies in the UK; what reports the Government have received that some have been certified inappropriately; and what percentage her Department estimates have been certified inappropriately.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department does not collect information on businesses certified to ISO 9000. However, figures produced by the International Standards Organisation indicate that in, December 2001, there were 66,760 ISO 9000 certifications in the UK. Neither my Department nor UKAS collect information on the number of UK businesses certified to ISO 9000 by UKAS accredited companies. My Department is made aware from time to time of certifications which might be deemed inappropriate for various reasons (for example because the certifier is unaccredited and the certificate is not accepted in the market as a result) but keeps no record of the precise numbers of such cases.

ISO 9001:2000

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's policy is on change of ISO 9000 certification to the latest version of ISO 9001:2000.

Patricia Hewitt: All ISO standards are reviewed at least every five years to ensure they continue to meet the needs of business and industry. ISO 9001:2000 is the most recent version of the ISO 9000 series of quality management systems and has been produced by quality and industry experts working under the aegis of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). From 15 December 2003 it is the intention of the certification organisations only to issue certificates against the new standard. It is a matter for individual businesses to decide whether to be certified against the new standard.
	However, ISO 9001:2000 is intended to reflect modern management approaches and the experience gained in industry and commerce over the past 25 years, with the focus moving from compliance to achieving results, and as such it is welcomed by the government. We hope that businesses will use the new standard to improve their productivity and competitiveness and that as many as possible will transfer to the new standard.

ISO 9001:2000

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice the Government is giving to ISO 9000 certified companies about the need to transfer to ISO 9001:2000, by 15 December this year.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers to his questions answered today PQs No. 120287 and 120289.

Mental Health

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of her staff retired on medical grounds due to mental health problems in the last year.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 662W, by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster.

Nuclear Waste

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when BNFL plans to return high level nuclear waste from reprocessing foreign spent fuel back to customer countries; what facilities exist at Sellafield to store on an interim basis treated wastes; and whether she has received commitments from all foreign customers that they are prepared to accept the repatriation of their wastes.

Stephen Timms: The arrangements for the return of high level nuclear wastes (HLW) are a commercial matter between BNFL and its overseas customers, subject to meeting the appropriate regulatory requirements. All new reprocessing contracts signed since 1976 have included return of waste provisions and in signing such contracts overseas customers have accepted that wastes can be returned.
	The HLW arising from reprocessing is conditioned, by vitrification, into a solid form suitable for safe long term storage and transportation. Vitrified HLW arising from fuel reprocessed to date is currently stored in a purpose built, engineered storage facility at Sellafield, in advance of return in accordance with the contracts.

Oftel

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on Oftel's policy on special offers in the telecommunications market; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure repeated special offers do not distort the telecommunications market.

Stephen Timms: I understand that Oftel looks at any issues of anti-competitive behaviour in the pricing of telecommunications services, such as the use of non-off or repeated special offers, on a case by case basis. Any examination of such issues will be carried out within the framework of relevant legislation such as the Competition Act 1998 or the Telecommunications Act 1984. Oftel will look at issues relating to special offers if specific complaints are made to it or if it believes there is a competition issue which it needs to investigate on its own initiative.

Oftel

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether there is a statutory duty for Oftel to respond to formal complaints from alternative operators regarding uncompetitive practices from competitors; and what is the maximum time permitted for Oftel to deal with a complaint.

Stephen Timms: Section 49 of the Telecommunication Act 1984 imposes a duty on the Director General of Telecommunications to consider any non-frivolous representations made to him. Under the provisions of the Competition Act 1998, he has discretion as to whether or not to take action on a complaint brought to him.
	With effect from 25 July 2003 the new European Directives on electronic communications introduce a mandatory target of four months for resolution of disputes. There are no statutory time limits on other investigations, though Oftel works to internal management targets.

Post Office Card Accounts

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Post Office card accounts have been opened in Scotland.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the format requested. National figures are available only.
	However, I understand from the Post Office Ltd. that, as of 31 May 2003, 32,900 Post Office card accounts have been opened.
	This number should grow rapidly over the coming weeks and months as those people opting for a card account complete the application process. By the end of May 2003, some 330,000 people had said they want to open a Post Office card account.

Post Office Card Accounts

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Post Office card accounts have been opened.

Stephen Timms: I understand from the Post Office Ltd. that as of 31 May 2003, 32,900 Post Office card accounts have been opened.
	This number should grow rapidly over the coming weeks and months as those people opting for a card account complete the application process. By the end of May 2003, some 330,000 people had said they want to open a Post Office card account.

Renewable Energy

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans her Department has to subsidise the production of wood and wood products as a means of locking up carbon.

Stephen Timms: I have no such plans.

Trade Statistics

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the percentage of trade with the EEC was in 1973; and what percentage of UK total trade was in 2002 with those states who were members of the EEC in 1973.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 16 June 2003
	In 1973 the eight members, other than the UK of the then EEC accounted for 32.6 per cent. of the UK's total trade in goods, In 2002 they accounted for 46.2 per cent.

Unscrupulous Tradesmen

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) accreditation and (b) regulatory measures are in place to protect the general public, with particular reference to vulnerable groups, from unscrupulous tradesmen.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There is a sizeable body of law, which gives consumers protection in respect to both civil and criminal matters. Within this framework, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Trading Standards services enforce a wide range of legislation aimed at protecting all consumers. Some of this legislation is directed at practices more likely to affect vulnerable consumers. Through the Enterprise Act we have strengthened the enforcement of consumer protection legislation by making it possible for enforcers to seek a Stop Now Order against a trader acting unlawfully in respect of a wide range of legislative infringements, which harm the collective interests of consumers. These provisions came into force on 20 June 2003.
	The Enterprise Act empowers the OFT to formally approve and promote voluntary codes of practice that meet its challenging core criteria and, if necessary, withdraw that approval publicly if a code is found to be not operating satisfactorily. The aim of the new scheme is to promote and safeguard consumers' interests by helping them identify better businesses and to encourage businesses to raise their standards of customer service.

Waste Electrical andElectronic Equipment Directive

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will ensure that implementation of the European Union waste electrical and electronic equipment directive in respect of the re-use of printer ink and toner cartridges will encourage an expansion of re-use.

Stephen Timms: The implementation of this Directive does not affect printer cartridges.

TRANSPORT

Efficiency Savings

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the target was in each of the last five years for efficiency savings as a percentage of total running costs for each of the non-departmental public bodies for which his predecessor Department was responsible; and whether each target was met.

Tony McNulty: The information is as follows:
	Strategic Rail Authority
	The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was established in February 2001 and no targets for efficiency have yet been set. The SRA's Financial Framework designates their Chief Executive as being responsible for using resources 'economically, efficiently and effectively'. I am satisfied that he has done this.
	Lighthouse Authorities
	The Secretary of State has no power to set targets for the two lighthouse authorities that are identified as non-departmental public bodies (Trinity House Lighthouse Service and Northern Lighthouse Board). The two organizations set their own operational targets.

European Maritime Safety Agency

Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will put forward Rosyth as the permanent location for the European Maritime Safety Agency.

David Jamieson: Glasgow was nominated in 2001 as the UK candidate location for the European Maritime Safety Agency, in a joint submission by the Department and the Scottish Executive.

Low-wave Radar

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he is having with his EU counterparts on restrictions on the use of low-wave radar by vessels in the seas around the British Isles.

David Jamieson: Low-wave radar is not a term that my Department recognises. Surface wave or surface duct radar may achieve "over the horizon" ranges, but has little application to commercial shipping. There are no discussions with European counterparts on this matter at this time.

Overcrowding (Trains)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the levels of overcrowding on trains have been in each year since 1992.

Tony McNulty: Overcrowding is primarily a problem in London in the peak periods. Overall overcrowding levels fell from 1992 to 1996, rose in 1997, fell in 1998, rose in 1999 and 2000, were unchanged in 2001 and fell in 2002.
	Nearly half a million people now travel by train into London each morning. This is the highest figure since the late 1980s. Despite this growth in use at peak times the number of operators that have overcrowding levels exceeding the Strategic Rail Authority's threshold has fallen to three. A graph showing London commuter numbers and crowding has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	An updated version of the chart showing passenger numbers and crowding figures from 1990 onwards has also been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Regulatory Bodies

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) number of staff employed by and (b) budget of each regulatory body for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Two transport bodies can be described as regulatory: the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Rail Regulator (ORR).
	
		
			  (a) Staff  (Full-time equivalent) (b) Budgetresource(£000) 
		
		
			 ORR   
			 1997–98 132 8,005 
			 1998–99 134 8,513 
			 1999–2000 136 12,108 
			 2000–01 104 15,049 
			 2001–02 115 10,315 
			 2002–03 133 13,129 
			
			 CAA   
			 1997–98 1,008 70,836 
			 1998–99 1,011 74,063 
			 1999–2000 1,011 75,857 
			 2000–01 (3)1,083 (3)76,305 
			 2001–02 1,082 81,280 
			 2002–03 1,060 80,432 
		
	
	(3) Note from 1.4.2000 staff numbers include the Directorate of Airspace Policy (54 staff).
	Note:
	For both regulators the figures are for 1 April to 31 March. The budgets are gross total (not just staff costs), without fee income being deducted.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his Department's regulatory impact assessment procedure, and how many RIAs have been reviewed in respect of the Department over the last year.

Tony McNulty: A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) must be completed for all policy proposals that have a potential impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. It includes details of the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating policy proposals and their impact.
	Information on the number of RIAs that have been reviewed in respect of the Department in the last year is not held.

Road Safety

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have (a) died, (b) been seriously injured and (c) been injured in road crashes caused by drivers with alcohol levels (i) between 50mg and 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood and (ii) between 20mg and 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in each of the last 10 years.

David Jamieson: holding answer 25 June 2003
	The information requested is not available.

Road Safety

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary concerning the role of the police in enforcing standards of road use. [R]

David Jamieson: Ministers in my Department have discussions with the Home Secretary and his Ministers as and when necessary on a range of issues of which roads policing is one. Officials in both Departments have a regular dialogue on these matters.

Secondments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 14 April 2003, Official Report, column 595W, on secondments, if he will name the organisations to which civil servants in his Department have been seconded since 2001–02 up to the date for which the most recent figures are available in (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, stating in each case the dates of the secondments, the number of civil servants seconded to that organisation and their grade.

Tony McNulty: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Sewel Motions

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list Sewel motions passed by the Scottish Parliament since May 1999 that apply to his Department's responsibilities and Government Bills he has sponsored.

Tony McNulty: Of the Bills sponsored by my Department, the following was the subject of a Sewel motion in the Scottish Parliament on the date indicated:
	Railways and Transport Safety—20 March 2003

Sunset Clauses

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to include a sunset clause in all new legislation unless a specific case can be made to exclude a sunset clause.

Tony McNulty: The revised RIA guidance 'Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment' was published on 28 January 2003. It advises policy officials to consider time limiting or sunsetting at an early stage of policy development and gives specific examples of where sunsetting maybe appropriate.
	The Department for Transport actively promotes the better regulation agenda and the use of sunsetting where appropriate.

Wheel Clamping

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars were clamped by the DVLA in the Ogmore constituency (a) in the week commencing 9 June, (b) in the month preceding 9 June and (c) in the previous year.

David Jamieson: In the week commencing 9 June, 30 vehicles were wheel clamped during the operation in the Ogmore constituency. No vehicles were wheel clamped during the previous month. 78 vehicles were wheel clamped between June 2002 and June 2003.

TREASURY

Budget Report

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much production and printing of the 2003 Budget Report and its accompanying notes cost; and how many copies of the 2003 Budget Report have been sold at the full cover price.

Paul Boateng: The cost of producing and distributing the Financial Statement and Budget Report (FSBR) and associated documents was met from within the Treasury's three-year Departmental Expenditure Limits. The Stationery Office, the publishers, are responsible for the sale of the FSBR through their chain of bookstores.

Council of Ministers

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department's vote in the Council of Ministers against a legislative proposal (a) was sufficient and (b) was not sufficient to achieve with other member states a blocking minority;
	(2)  on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department abstained in the Council of Ministers on a legislative proposal which was passed by qualified majority voting;
	(3)  on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department has been outvoted by qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers; and if he will list the legislation by year;
	(4)  on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department indicated dissent from a proposal in the Council of Ministers but did not register a vote or abstention.

John Healey: The position and voting record of the UK on matters discussed by the ECOFIN Council and the ECOFIN (Budget) Council are set out in the statements made to Parliament after each Council meeting.
	In addition, the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union publishes a monthly document listing legislative and non-legislative acts of the Council, including the results of votes, explanations of voting and statements for the minutes when the Council is acting in its capacity as legislator. This record is published on the Council's website at: http://register.consilium.eu.int/isoregister/frames/introacfsEN.htm

Drug Seizures

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much illegal drugs were seized by HM Customs and Excise in the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost of such operations was.

John Healey: Details of drugs seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and the costs of their activities are published in their Annual Report for 2001–02, the last full year for which results are available, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House (CM 5671).

EU Committees

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in the Department serve on EU committees or working parties.

Paul Boateng: We do not keep central records of officials serving on EU committees or working parties. Departmental officials serve on EU committees and working parties as the business need requires. We have set out in previous Written Answers, for example on 10 June 2002, 18 June 2002, 28 April 2003 and 30 April 2003, the number of officials representing the Department on specific EU bodies about which details have previously been requested.

Euro

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from (a) business leaders and (b) mortgage providers in Northern Ireland regarding the proposed use of fiscal regulators instead of monetary policy with regard to the United Kingdom joining the euro.

Paul Boateng: None

Euro Roadshow

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the events he plans to attend as part of the Government's euro roadshow.

Paul Boateng: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Economic Secretary to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) on 20 June 2003, Official Report, column 459W.

Income Tax

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the revenue impact would be of extending the 22 per cent. income tax rate bracket to include yearly incomes of (a) £40,000, (b) £45,000, (c) £50,000, (d) £55,000, (e) £60,000, (f) £65,000, (g) £70,000, and introducing an additional income tax bracket of (i) 45 per cent. (ii) 46 per cent. (iii) 47 per cent. (iv) 48 per cent. (v) 49 per cent. (vi) 50 per cent. (vii) 51 per cent. (viii) 52 per cent. (ix) 53 per cent. (x) 54 per cent. (xi) 55 per cent. (xii) 60 per cent. and (xiii) 65 per cent. for yearly incomes above (a) to (g) starting at (A) £50,000, (B) £55,000, (C) £60,000, (D) £70,000, (E) £75,000, (F) £80,000, (G) £85,000, (H) £90,000, (I) £95,000, (J) £100,000, (K) £105,000, (L) £110,000, (M) £115,000, (N) £120,000, (O) £125,000, (P) £130,000, (Q) £135,000, (R) £140,000, (S) £145,000 and (T) £150,000; and what he estimates the administrative costs would be of each of these changes.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Labour Force Statistics

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the 10 fastest growing occupations were (a) in the UK and (b) in each of the English regions between 2000 and 2003, using Labour Force Survey Standard Occupational Classification 2000 by way of minor group and unit group level of analysis;
	(2)  what the 10 fastest growing occupations were (a) in the UK and (b) in each of the English regions between (i) 1992 and 1997 and (ii) 1997 and 1999, using Labour Force Survey Standard Occupational Classification 1990 by way of minor group and unit group level of analysis.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Jon Cruddas, dated 26 June 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about the fastest growing occupations in the United Kingdom and the regions of England between 1992 and 1997; 1997 and 1999; and 2000 and 2003. (121428, 121429).
	I have arranged for the information requested to be placed in the House of Commons Library. The data are compiled from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
	The Standard Occupation Classification 2000 was first used in the LFS in the three month period ending May 2001. Information for 2003 is not yet available. Therefore, estimates of change between 1992 and 1997; 1997 and 2000; and 2001 and 2002 have been given. These estimates relate to the three month period ending May of each year. They exclude those occupations for which the LFS sample size is too small to provide reliable estimates, and are not seasonally adjusted.

Pensions

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to tax lump sum payments payable to the spouses of the pensioners who do not live for five years after their retirement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government's consultation paper, 'Simplifying the taxation of pensions: increasing choice and flexibility for all' proposes a consistent set of rules governing the payment and taxation of benefits from tax privileged pension schemes. These rules will replace several sets of current rules, which are neither consistent nor coherent.
	The simplification proposals were issued for consultation so people could put forward their views before final decisions are taken. The Government are now considering the responses received and will announce further details of the proposed new tax regime in the autumn.

RAF Logistic Support Services

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the reasons for the treatment of RAF Logistic Support Services as a conventional management grouping for financial year 1999–2000; and why no accounts direction was given.

Paul Boateng: The RAF Logistics Support Agency was under the control of the Chief of Defence Logistics from 1 April 1999 and was integrated with other Defence logistics organisations in 1999–2000 to form the Defence Logistics Organisation. It ceased to be a Defence agency on 31 March 2000. In the light of these changes, and with the agreement of the NAO, the Agency was treated as a conventional management grouping in 1999–2000. No accounts directions were or are given by HM Treasury to such management groupings which are, therefore, not required to produce separate accounts. However, the Agency was included in the Department's Resource Accounts for 1999–2000 which were subject to an accounts direction and were audited by the NAO.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Treasury's regulatory impact assessment procedure; and how many regulatory impact assessments have been reviewed in respect of the department over the last year.

Dawn Primarolo: A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) must be completed for all policy proposals that have a potential impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. It includes details of the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating policy proposals and their impact.
	Information on the number of RIAs that have been reviewed by the Treasury, Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise in the last year is not held centrally.
	From this year the National Audit Office (NAO) has a new role in independently evaluating a selection of RIAs. In their Annual Report, published in February 2003, the Better Regulation Task Force put forward suggestions of RIAs for the NAO to review. The NAO review will focus on the quality of analysis in the RIAs and the thoroughness with which the RIAs have been undertaken. The findings and recommendations of best practice will be fed back to departments and aims to improve the standards of RIAs across Government.

Tax Credit Fraud

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suspected cases of working families tax credit fraud there were in the last year for which figures are available, broken down where possible into cases where there appears to be (a) understated income, (b) understated or undeclared capital, (c) undeclared subsidiary income, (d) an undeclared partner, (e) undeclared employment or self-employment, (f) overstated hours, (g) misrepresented child care, (h) fictitious children and partners and (i) fictitious employment.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue undertake investigations into tax credit claims where there are grounds for believing that the claim may not be compliant. I refer the hon. Gentleman to my response of 14 April 2003, Official Report, column 536W, for details of the number of Working Families Tax Credit cases identified for investigation in 2002–03.
	As non compliance may cover a range of circumstances and involve more than one reason for suspicion, a breakdown of the additional information requested is not available.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

GCHQ

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what investigations have been carried out into unverified prepayments by GCHQ in respect of procurement of projects and services since the Intelligence and Security Committee's investigation; what the nature of the accounting misapplications and unverified monies was; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: GCHQ has worked closely with the National Audit Office to establish the cause of past problems. There was no question of money going missing.
	The past problems have now been resolved and regular reconciliations put in place to ensure GCHQ's prepayment balances are properly recorded and can be reconciled to other organisations' records.

GCHQ

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to ensure that GCHQ will be able to produce resource accounts that reflect a true and fair record of expenditure.

Jack Straw: The main areas of weakness identified by the National Audit Office in GCHQ's accounts have related to asset accounting. GCHQ is taking appropriate measures to address these issues, closely consulting HM Treasury and the National Audit Office.

GCHQ

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to establish that equipment missing from the GCHQ Fixed Asset Register did not contain classified material.

Jack Straw: Analysis of the accounts has produced no evidence of any financial loss or security problems relating to classified material arising out of the discrepancies in the Register.

Afghanistan

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan of the time required to register voters in Afghanistan for democratic elections scheduled to take place in 2004.

Mike O'Brien: According to the Bonn Agreement, elections must be held in Afghanistan by June 2004. The UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) is working closely with the Afghan Transitional Administration to develop a programme of voter registration. The actual process of registration is scheduled to begin in August and run through the winter until March 2004. Subject to security constraints, rural areas, less accessible in winter, will be registered first followed then by urban areas. Registration will be non-compulsory and conducted individually, to ensure privacy. UNAMA expect to have a final voters list ready by May 2004.

Afghanistan

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds (a) have been provided and (b) have been pledged by (i) the UK, (ii) the EU and (iii) the international community to assist the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Afghan Transitional Authority in registering voters in Afghanistan.

Mike O'Brien: The United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan have estimated that the elections and voter registration will cost about US$84 million. However, the UN have not yet formally issued a request for funding from donors. The UK Government and other donors will consider requests once they have been made.

Afghanistan

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the International Crisis Group report on the constitutional process in Afghanistan, published on 12 June.

Mike O'Brien: The International Crisis Group report on the constitutional process in Afghanistan highlights a number of important issues that will affect the integrity of the constitutional process, including the importance of ensuring adequate security to allow the Afghan people to participate freely. However, the report contains several factual errors to which the United Nations has drawn attention, and inaccurately portrays both the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the international community as being insufficiently committed to the constitutional process. The British Government continues to support both the Afghan Transitional Administration and UNAMA in their efforts to support the constitution-making process, including by helping to fund the popular consultation on the constitution which is currently under way.

Colombia

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government will take to ensure full account is taken of the recommendations made by non-governmental organisations to the forthcoming meeting for international support for Colombia on 10 July.

Bill Rammell: Representatives from civil society have been invited to make a presentation at the London Meeting on International Support for Colombia on 10 July. We shall ensure that participants in the meeting take full account of these views in further discussion throughout the meeting and beyond.

Convention on the Future of Europe

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the areas of decision-making where the current treaties require unanimity and which would move to qualified majority voting under the Convention on the Future of Europe's proposed draft European Constitution.

Denis MacShane: Annex VIII of document number CONV 727/03 of the Convention on the Future of Europe provides a complete list of the legal bases for which the draft EU constitutional treaty proposes changing the adoption procedure. That document is available on the Convention's website www.european-convention.eu.int in the "Documents" section.

Family Visit Visas

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many family visitor visa applications were (a) received, (b) determined and (c) refused at each entry clearance post in each month since January 2003.

Chris Mullin: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Family Visitor Applications Received Family Visitor Applications Determined Family Visitor Applications Refused 
		
		
			 January 19,013 18,182 4,995 
			 February 16,972 18,207 4,908 
			 March 22,223 18,238 5,347 
		
	
	The table shows the number of family visitor applications received, determined and refused at our visa issuing posts worldwide for the period January to March 2003. The figures for April and May are currently being collated and are not yet available. Those family visitor applications which have been determined are those which have been resolved, either through the refusal or the grant of entry clearance.
	The hon. Member may find apparent errors in the arithmetic. For example in February, 16,972 applications were received, but 18,207 were resolved. This is due to a variety of reasons. Applications can be carried forward from one month to the next before being resolved. Applications may be withdrawn during processing but still count as an application received. Posts are also required to count all applications received (a mother and three children on one passport may count as four applications, but only one entry clearance may be issued).

Iraq

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British personnel are searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and how many sites they have visited.

Geoff Hoon: I have been asked to reply.
	Coalition investigations into Iraqi programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction are moving from an initial approach based on specific sites to a broader approach, encompassing other forms of evidence such as documentation and interviews, under the auspices of the Iraq Survey Group. On current plans the United Kingdom contribution to the Iraq Survey Group will be around 90–100 personnel, military and civilian, supported by Coalition forces. As at 22 June 2003, Coalition forces had initiated investigations into 159 sites within Iraq, from a list of over 500, which may be connected to programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, investigations had been initiated into a further 83 sites identified since the conflict began. We anticipate that further sites will be identified as investigations progress.

Iraq

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) mass graves and (b) bodies have been discovered by United Kingdom and United States forces in Iraq.

Bill Rammell: At present, the coalition has received reports of more than 80 mass grave sites, and has confirmed the existence of more than 20. Estimates place the number of people executed by the Saddam Hussein regime at around 300,000, and some human rights organisations place this number higher.

Iraq

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria are to be used for the selection of members of the Iraqi council; and how many of those being considered are women.

Bill Rammell: The political council will be formed in consultation with representatives of a wide cross-section of Iraqi society and political groupings. We expect it to reflect Iraq's diversity, through the inclusion of representatives of the major ethnic and religious groups, geographical regions, women and professional people.
	The UK attaches a high priority to the effective representation of women. We are working with Iraqis, with our coalition partners and with the United Nations Special Representative to achieve this.

Iraq

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what timescale he envisages for the establishment of the Iraqi council announced by Mr. Paul Bremer; and what issues he expects to appear on the agenda of the council's first meeting.

Bill Rammell: Ambassador Bremer's aim is for a political council to be established by the end of July.
	No decisions have been taken yet on how it will operate. Among the first issues we expect the political council to deal with are the appointment of interim Ministers; and the setting up of commissions to deal with issues such as judicial and economic reform.

Mr. Jonathan Brown

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the British embassy in Oman formally requested a complete set of the travel ban documentation that applies in the case of a constituent, Mr. Jonathan Brown.

Chris Mullin: holding answer 20 June 2003
	Travel ban directives originate from the Omani authorities only. Our Embassy in Muscat cannot interfere in the Omani judicial and administrative system. Our own judicial and administrative systems are similarly protected.

Mr. Jonathan Brown

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the British Embassy in Oman have taken to ensure that the Omani authorities regularise the visa status of a constituent, Mr. Jonathan Brown; and what steps the Embassy is taking to secure his return to the UK.

Chris Mullin: holding answer 20 June 2003
	For Mr. Brown to be able to leave Oman, the local authorities require him to regularise his expired visa and pay the court judgment of approximately £10,000 against him. Our Embassy wrote to Mr. Brown on 20 July 2002 explaining this. On 5 February 2003 an Embassy staff member assisted Mr. Brown by taking his passport to the immigration services to secure the visa extension. The authorities could not, however, proceed, as Mr. Brown was unable to provide all of the information required. On 19 May our Ambassador reminded Mr. Brown in a letter that the Omani authorities required this information; to date Mr. Brown has not given it to them. We have repeatedly offered to contact Mr. Brown's family to secure funds to pay his judgment. Mr. Brown has not responded to these offers.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Department's Regulatory Impact Assessment procedure; and how many RIAs have been reviewed in respect of the Department over the last year.

Jack Straw: A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) must be completed for all policy proposals that have a potential impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. It includes details of the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating policy proposals and their impact.
	No RIAs produced by the FCO have been reviewed over the last year.
	From this year the National Audit Office (NAO) has a new role in independently evaluating a selection of RIAs. In their Annual Report, published in February 2003, the Better Regulation Task Force put forward suggestions of RIAs for the NAO to review.
	The NAO review will focus on the quality of analysis in the RIAs and the thoroughness with which the RIAs have been undertaken. The findings and recommendations of best practice will be fed back to departments. It will play a valuable part in driving up standards of RIAs.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Colombia

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what measures are in place to ensure that (a) UK and (b) EU (i) policies and (ii) aid to Colombia comply with the human rights recommendations of the United Nations.

Hilary Benn: DFID has one remaining government-to-government bilateral project in Colombia which is ending this year. This provides advice on improving the exchange of information between non-governmental organisations working in agriculture. The project is consistent with the UN human rights recommendations.
	The EU has made clear its support for adoption of the UN's human rights recommendation. The EC's Euro105 million Country Programme for Colombia (2001–06) contains four elements. Two directly support efforts to improve human rights, ie support to administrative and judicial reform and promotion of human rights; the other two elements (social/economic development and alternative development) seek to address the underlying causes of conflict. In designing projects under these the Commission take account of the need to avoid their funds being used in any way which would not be compliant with UN human rights recommendations.

Departmental Ministers

John Horam: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how many Ministers there were in the Department for International Development in each year since 1996.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander) on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 661W.

Liberia

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assistance Her Majesty's Government has provided to civilians affected by the civil war in Liberia; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 38WS.

Poverty and Social Impact Analyses

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what poverty and social impact analyses have been (a) commissioned and (b) completed, and for which countries, since 2000; and if he will place the results in the Library.

Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development commissioned a series of pilot Poverty and Social Impact Analyses (PSIAs) in seven countries in 2002. These were selected following demand from national governments and were carried out by both international and local consultants; they were funded by DFID headquarters and have been finalised. These pilots were in Honduras (electricity reform), Mozambique (fuel tax), Uganda (export promotion), Rwanda (macro policy), Armenia (water policy), Indonesia (rice tariff) and Orissa State India (public finances). The aim of these studies was to provide lessons to national governments in developing countries, as well as partners in the donor community, on what could be done, and how.
	DFID's policy is to support nationally-led processes, and support governments in undertaking PSIAs, together with partners and other national stakeholders. For example, DFID is supporting government-led initiatives in PSIA in a number of countries as and when demand arises; this currently includes co-ordinating stakeholder workshops in Ghana and Uganda to determine PSIA priorities. DFID is supporting PSIA in a number of other countries, which is led by national governments, and often financially supported by other donors.
	The results of the DFID pilot studies will be placed in the Library.

USAID

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development on what projects since 2001, and in which countries, the Department has worked in bilateral donor collaboration with USAID; and whether the aid given in such projects has a tied condition for the benefit of (a) the joint venture and (b) the partners of USAID.

Hilary Benn: A comprehensive list of co-financing projects is not held centrally. However, some examples of collaboration with USAID are available, particularly in health and population. Countries where we have co-financed or contributed to health and population projects include India, Cambodia, Bolivia, Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya.
	The US has untied its aid to least-developed countries in line with the DAC Recommendation. We cannot establish without disproportionate cost how many instances there are of the US untying its funding to collaborative projects.

World Trade Organisation

David Stewart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on the Department's contributions to the negotiations surrounding the World Trade Organisation.

Hilary Benn: DFID is working closely, at both ministerial and official level, with other Government Departments to ensure coherence between the UK's trade and development policies in the Doha round of trade negotiations. Internationally, Ministers and officials are talking with developing country governments, the European Commission and the WTO Secretariat. The Government are committed to making sure that the Doha round brings real benefits to the poor.
	More immediately, DFID is funding a variety of initiatives to help developing countries to set their own trade policies to reduce poverty. This includes improving developing countries' ability to negotiate favourable deals in trade negotiations, helping them interpret trade agreements, and supporting them in taking advantage of new international trading opportunities. To this end, the Government have committed £45 million to trade related capacity building since 1998.

SCOTLAND

Scotland Office

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on which Cabinet sub-committees Scotland will be represented by (a) the Secretary of State and (b) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.

Alistair Darling: As in the case of all Cabinet committees this is a matter for the Prime Minister.

Scotland Office

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the projected staff complement of the Scotland Office within the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Alistair Darling: The future staffing required to deal with Scottish business will be considered in due course.

Scottish Parliament

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive about the Scottish Parliament building;
	(2)  how the estimate for the Scottish Parliament building which was used in the Scottish Parliament White Paper was reached;
	(3)  when the estimate of £50 million for the Scottish Parliament building was announced by his predecessor; and what the process was by which this estimate was reached;
	(4)  if he will list contracts that (a) had been completed and (b) had been signed relating to the (i) planning, (ii) construction and (iii) equipping of the Scottish Parliament building prior to the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body;
	(5)  which (a) departments and (b) consultancies were used to evaluate costs of potential sites for the Scottish Parliament building when this matter was considered prior to the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body;
	(6)  what sites were proposed by the then Secretary of the Scotland Office as possibilities for the Scottish Parliament site; and what the estimates were for each site when this matter was considered prior to the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body;
	(7)  if he will publish minutes of Scotland Office meetings relating to the new Scottish Parliament building prior to the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body.

Alistair Darling: The First Minister has announced that an investigation will be carried out by Lord Fraser of Carmyllie and the Auditor General for Scotland into all aspects of the Holyrood project.

Scottish Parliament

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Secretary of State next intends to visit the Scottish Parliament.

Alistair Darling: I expect to do so as and when appropriate.

Special Advisers

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many special advisers are employed in the Scotland Office, within the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Alistair Darling: No special advisers are currently employed in the Scotland Office.

DEFENCE

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the actions his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are taking to comply with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002; whether he has made an estimate of the cost of compliance; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence has always managed asbestos in MOD buildings in accordance with legislation and has strict procedures for ensuring compliance. These are contained in the MOD Health and Safety Handbook (JSP 375) leaflet 54. Additional guidance is contained in the Defence Estates, Design and Maintenance Guide 16—Asbestos Based Materials. Copies of the publications
	mentioned have been placed in the Library of the House.
	Actions taken by the department include:
	Policy on Asbestos has been revised to reflect the changes in the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.
	Design and Maintenance Guide 16—Asbestos Based Materials, is being revised to incorporate the requirements of the new Regulations.
	A programme of non-invasive assessments is to be carried out on all MOD buildings in order to establish whether or not asbestos may be present. Further more intrusive surveys may be undertaken and management plans generated depending on the results of the survey.
	It has not been possible to determine the cost of the implementation of these Regulations. There are in excess of 40,000 buildings with associated infrastructure. The costs of the survey will vary from establishment to establishment depending upon such factors as the number, type, age and use (past and present) of the buildings.

Defence White Paper

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes he plans to make to the number of infantry battalions as part of the Defence White Paper.

Adam Ingram: There are currently no plans to make changes to the number of infantry battalions. The White Paper that we intend to publish in the autumn will provide an updated statement of Defence Policy and explain our plans for the delivery of enhanced capability.

Drugs

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many convictions there were for drug-related offences among armed forces personnel in the latest year for which data are available.

Ivor Caplin: The number of convictions under the Service Discipline Acts for drug related offences in each of the three Services for the calendar year 2002 is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Naval Service 9 
			 Army 11 
			 RAF 5 
		
	
	It is not possible to determine whether drugs misuse played an aggravating factor in other criminal offences without examining each individual case file. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Drugs

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of each of the armed forces tested positive for the use of controlled substances in the latest year for which data are available (a) as a proportion of those tested and (b) by substance.

Ivor Caplin: The details are as follows.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 The Naval Service  
			 Numbers tested 12,901 
			 Numbers positive 43 
			 Percentage positive 0.33 
			 Substance detected  
			 Cocaine 9 
			 Ecstasy 8 
			 Cannabis 29 
			 Amphetamine 2 
			 Benzos 1 
			 Total 49 
			   
			 Army  
			 Numbers tested 88,946 
			 Numbers positive 534 
			 Percentage positive 0.60 
			 Substance detected  
			 Cannabis 278 
			 Ecstasy 141 
			 Cocaine 107 
			 Amphetamines 44 
			 Others 16 
			 Total 586 
			   
			 RAF  
			 Numbers tested 10,569 
			 Numbers positive 10 
			 Percentage positive 0.095 
			 Substance detected  
			 Ecstasy 3 
			 Cannabis 8 
			 Cocaine 1 
			 Total 12 
		
	
	It should be noted that the number of substances detected is greater than the number of individuals due to positive tests for more than one substance.

Submarines

Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the (a) work, (b) progress and (c) timetable for the interim storage for laid-up submarines.

Adam Ingram: Outline proposals from industry, for undertaking the work to store intermediate level waste from our decommissioned nuclear submarines, have now been received and evaluation work has started. An exercise to determine the most effective procurement strategy will also begin shortly. Further consultation with the public is due to commence in August and will inform our own evaluation work, and lead to the selection of potential bidders to be invited to undertake more detailed negotiations from early next year. This is expected to take up to three years to complete and will result in the selection of a preferred bidder and solution.

Tank Transporters

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what make of tank transporter was being used to transport the Scimitar armoured vehicles involved in the accident on the M1 on 11 June; and whether this vehicle was owned by his Department.

Adam Ingram: The vehicle being used was not a tank transporter and was not owned by the Ministry of Defence. It was a commercially operated tractor and flat-bed trailer combination, contracted by the Department, specifically for the move from Marchwood to Catterick.
	The armoured vehicles being moved comprised two Spartan and one Samaritan Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked).

Tank Transporters

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the number of armoured vehicles that can be carried safely by (a) individual heavy goods vehicles and (b) specialised tank transporters; and what advice is given to personnel and contractors.

Adam Ingram: When a commercial road haulier is tasked to move armoured vehicles, the company is provided with details of their numbers, type and weight. The contractor is then responsible for determining the appropriate number of large goods vehicles required and must operate under Road Vehicle regulations.
	Where Army specialist tank transporters are used, the unit commander will allocate the requisite number in accordance with the Ministry of Defence regulations.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

English Teaching

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the standards of English teaching in secondary schools.

David Miliband: Ofsted reports that English teaching is good in about seven secondary schools in ten at each key stage.
	Last year attainment in English at Key Stage 3 and GCSE was at the highest level ever.

Higher Education

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost of reaching his Department's higher education participation target.

Alan Johnson: "The Future of higher education", and in the annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Assessments of the costs for increasing and widening participation beyond 2005–06 will be made as part of the 2004 Spending Review, work on which will commence shortly.

Higher Education

Piara S Khabra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of students in higher education are from social classes D and E; and what the proportion was in 1997.

Alan Johnson: The latest information shows that in 2001 10 per cent. of students accepted for entry to higher education courses were from Semi-skilled (social class D) or Unskilled (social class E) family backgrounds. The corresponding figure for 1997 was 11 per cent.

Teachers' Work Load

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary for Education and Sills what steps he is taking to reduce the workload of teachers in schools.

David Miliband: The National Agreement, signed by Government, employers and school workforce unions in January, sets out our shared strategy for raising standards and reducing teacher workload. The signatories have now agreed draft changes to the teachers' contract. The first phase of changes, including the removal of administrative and clerical tasks from teachers, will, subject to Parliament, come into force in September. We have also established a National Remodelling Team and a network of LEA facilitators to provide schools with practical advice and support in implementing the Agreement.

Teacher Morale

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of state for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of school funding on teacher morale.

David Miliband: We know that this is a difficult year for some schools and for their teachers because of the changes to the school funding system. Our key priority now is to work with all stakeholders to secure a better, more stable and predictable funding system for next year and to ensure that all schools can expect to receive a reasonable per pupil settlement for 2004–05.

Community Cohesion

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that community cohesion is emphasised within the school environment.

Stephen Twigg: holding answer 25 June 2003
	In December 2002, the Local Government Association, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Home Office, and the Commission for Racial Equality jointly published "Guidance on Community Cohesion". This gives advice to local authorities on the practical steps they can take to promote community cohesion through all their policies and services, including education.
	The Government is also expanding the Specialist Schools Programme which requires schools to set objectives and targets to work with partner schools and the wider community, to spread the benefits of specialism to other schools and beyond.
	Excellence in Cities establishes important links between the schools which deliver the programme and the communities they serve. In particular, City Learning Centres, Excellence in Cities Action Zones and Learning Mentors all work directly with the wider community as well as with pupils and students.
	In addition, citizenship education, which has been a compulsory subject in secondary schools since September 2002, plays a part in building community cohesion in schools by teaching pupils tolerance, respect and understanding. It helps pupils learn how to become helpfully involved in the life and concerns of their school and develop socially and morally responsible behaviour towards those in authority and each other.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 19 May from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Mr. Kaufman) with regard to Annaliese Katherine Ginnaw.

Stephen Twigg: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, replied to the right hon. Member's letter of 19 May on 19 June 2003.

Disabled Students

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the (a) funding, (b) staffing and (c) activities of the National Disability Team established to promote good practice in relation to disabled students.

Alan Johnson: The National Disability Team was set up by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to improve provision for disabled students in higher education. Between January 2003 and December 2005 it will receive a total of £1.2 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland. The National Disability Team is staffed by a Director, a Deputy Director, three co-ordinators and some administrative staff. More detailed information on their activities can be found on their website at www.natdisteam.ac.uk.

Education Funding

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many local education authorities have failed to passport 100 per cent. of resources to schools in the present financial year.

Charles Clarke: I recognise that this is a difficult year for some schools because of the changes to the school funding arrangements. But part of the difficulty has been where LEAs have decided not to passport the full increase in their school funding to their schools budget. My Department has been in discussion with a number of the 19 authorities who were shown as not passporting in the analysis of local education authorities' budget returns I published on 2 May. Our latest figures show that 11 LEAs are not passporting.
	We do not yet know to what extent balances will be used by schools in 2003–04 because in many cases local education authorities are still considering schools' budget plans.

Education Funding

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills What representations he has received from schools about the adequacy of financial resources for 2003–04 to deliver the Government's standards targets.

David Miliband: We have received a large amount of correspondence concerning education budgets for the current financial year from both schools and local education authorities, as we do each year.

Ethnic Minority Pupils

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether Ofsted assesses ethnic minority intake as part of its inspection process in (a) school sixth-forms, (b) sixth-form colleges and (c) further education colleges; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of his letter in the Library.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make a statement on the Department's Regulatory Impact Assessment procedure; and how many RIAs have been reviewed in respect of the Department over the last year. (120852)
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Stephen Twigg: A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) must be completed for all policy proposals that have a potential impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. It includes details of the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating policy proposals and their impact.
	Information on the number of RIAs that have been reviewed in respect of the Department in the last year is not held.
	From this year, the National Audit Office (NAO) has a new role in independently evaluating a selection of RIAs. In their Annual Report, published in February 2003, the Better Regulation Task Force put forward suggestions of RIAs for the NAO to review.
	The NAO review will focus on the quality of analysis in the RIAs and the thoroughness with which the RIAs have been undertaken. The findings and recommendations of best practice will be fed back to departments. It will play a valuable part in driving up standards of RIAs.

Schools Budget (Wandsworth)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to use his powers under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to compel Wandsworth Borough Council to increase its schools budget.

David Miliband: My right hon. Friend has no power to compel a local education authority to increase its actual school budget. His reserve power under the School Standards and Framework Act to set a minimum schools budget for an authority applies where he considers that the authority's proposed schools budget for the following year, as notified to the Secretary of State by 31 January, is inadequate.

School Funding Taskforce

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he has taken to ensure that head teachers are represented on the interdepartmental taskforce on school funding.

David Miliband: The Department for Education and Skills is working in partnership with LEA and school representatives to identify changes that need to be made to the funding system for 2004–05 so that all schools can expect to receive a reasonable per pupil settlement in that year.
	Headteachers are represented at these discussions. We will be discussing how best to ensure sufficient funding increases for every LEA; the right balance between support through general grant and through ring-fenced and targeted grant; confidence that schools and pupils will receive the money intended for them; the right balance between school and LEA central provision; that variations in the budget increases received by different schools within each LEA are appropriate and fair; and that workforce reform, in line with the National Agreement, can be sustained. We will aim to ensure that changes are in place in good time to allow LEAs and schools to plan for 2004–05 and so provide increased predictability and stability in school funding.

Student Finance

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of undergraduate students undertaking courses for which annual per capita funding is less than £1,100.

Alan Johnson: No publicly funded courses in England attract less than £1,100 per full time equivalent student a year.

Sustainable Development

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what remit relating to sustainable development is required by his Department's (a) executive agencies; (b) advisory non-departmental bodies; (c) executive non-departmental bodies; (d) tribunals; (e) public corporations and (f) other bodies.

Stephen Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills has no executive agencies. Our executive non-departmental public bodies were tasked, in a letter sent in October 2000, with ensuring that sustainable development is incorporated into their activities and operations. As an example, in the remit letter issued to the Learning and Skills Council in November 2000, there are clear strategic objectives relating to sustainable development. Otherwise, we have one small independent tribunal, whose administrative function is provided by the Department.
	My Department is developing a sustainable development action plan for the education sector. It will seek a step change in the environmental operations of all publicly-funded educational establishments in England and in how people learn about sustainable development in all contexts. The Department itself will aim to become a model of best practice and would expect the same to apply to all of our associate bodies.

Truancy

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures have been taken since 1997 to reduce cases of truancy from schools; and what plans he has to improve schools' links with local police to catch truanting children.

Ivan Lewis: Since 1997 we have been supporting schools and Local Education Authorities through funding a range of local and national initiatives to tackle truancy and improve school attendance, including the dissemination of school attendance guidance, a series of practitioner conferences and funding for the introduction of electronic registration systems into over 500 schools to track and manage absence.
	As part of the three year £470 million Behaviour and Attendance strategy, targeted support is now being provided for schools with some of the greatest challenges to meet in improving behaviour and attendance. 700 schools are currently covered and this will extend to a further 1,900 schools by 2005. In addition the strategy will support all secondary schools with behaviour and attendance training and audits which will be available from September. Local Education Authorities with higher than expected levels of truancy are being provided with additional expert support to impact on school attendance rates.
	We have also co-ordinated national truancy sweeps in consultation with schools, Local Education Authorities and the police, and we have issued guidance on the operation of truancy sweeps. The last nationally co-ordinated truancy sweeps took place over three weeks last month involving all police forces in England and a further round is planned for the autumn. At local level truancy sweeps are now a regular feature in most Local Education Authorities and they are planned and conducted in partnership with schools, the police and other bodies such as Connexions and Youth Offending Teams.
	All schools are encouraged to develop good links between themselves and their local police. This includes the development of joint school and police liaison protocols.

University Research Funding

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how much of Higher Education Funding Council for England's university research funding has been distributed to universities in the north-west of England in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what percentage of quality related research funds have been allocated to north-west universities in each of the past five years; and which universities have received such funding.

Alan Johnson: The information requested is in the following tables. Table 1 shows the total amount of research funding allocated to higher education institutions (HEIs) in the north west region by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in each year since 1997. Table 2 shows the proportion of quality-related research funding allocated to HEIs in the North West region for the same period. HEFCE research funding for the north west region has risen from £77 million in 1997/98 to £108 million in 2003/04. The proportion of quality-related funding allocated to this region has fluctuated marginally over the same period, and stands at 10.3 per cent. in 2003/04 compared to 10.6 per cent. in 1997/98.
	
		Table 1: Time series of research funding for academic years 1997/98 to 2003/04 -- £ millions
		
			  1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 
		
		
			 North-West Region 77 88 89 91 93 98 108 
			 England Total 720 841 872 884 906 940 1,038 
			 North-West region as a percentage of England 10.7 10.5 10.2 10.3 10.3 10.4 10.4 
		
	
	Notes:
	Figures include quality-related research (QR) funds, generic research (GR) and collaborative research (CollR) funds for 1997/98 to 2001/02.
	For 2002/03, figures relate entirely to quality-related (QR).
	For 2003/04, figures relate to quality-related (QR) and capability funding.
	Source:
	HEFCE
	
		Table 2: Time series of quality-related (QR) research funding for academic years 1997/98 to 2003/04 -- (£ millions)
		
			  1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 
		
		
			 North-West Region 73 84 85 86 89 98 105 
			 England Total 684 805 835 847 868 940 1.020 
			 North-West region as a percentage of England 10.6 10.4 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.4 10.3

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Adjudication Panel (Bognor Regis)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was of the Adjudication Panel hearing held at the Inglenook Hotel, Pagham, Bognor Regis, on 10 and 11 June; and how much of the total figure was for the cost of legal counsel.

Phil Hope: The total cost of the Adjudication Panel hearing for all nine cases, over two days, was £3,500. This includes hire of the venue and the cost of legal counsel, which was £300.

Audit Commission Corporate Governance Report

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on how many occasions the Audit Commission has held a press conference on the publication of a local government corporate governance report; and if he will list the (a) dates and (b) reports.

Nick Raynsford: The Audit Commission has held press conferences in relation to corporate governance inspections on three occasions: twice with regard to Walsall, on 15 January 2002 on the publication of a corporate governance report, and on 11 June 2002 on the publication of an update to that report and a referral to the Secretary of State under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999; and once with regard to Kingston upon Hull on 29 July 2002, on a referral to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister under the same section.

Criminal Records Bureau

Paul Marsden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what additional funding he has made available to (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council and (b) Shropshire County Council in respect of increased costs of record checks by the Criminal Records Bureau.

Nick Raynsford: Funding to meet a range of cost pressures was included in the general increase in formula grant announced as part of the 2002 Spending Review; the amount of funding relating to the increased costs of record checks by the Criminal Records Bureau was not separately identified.
	Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council received a 7.1 per cent. formula grant increase in 2003–04 on a like-for-like basis with 2002–03; Shropshire County Council received a 5.4 per cent. formula grant increase.

Empty Property

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what definition of the term empty property his Department uses.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not use a standard definition of the term 'empty property'. It is commonly used to refer to property that is not occupied, even on an infrequent basis. Generally, properties that are used infrequently, such as second homes or holiday homes, are excluded from any definition but properties that are under-occupied, particularly in the case of commercial property, may not be.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recently published guidance, "Empty Property: Unlocking the potential—an implementation handbook" which sets out further information on identifying whether a property is empty. Copies of the guidance have been placed in the House Library.

Social Services

Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on per capita funding for North East Lincolnshire social services departments in the last five years; and what the per capita funding for unitary authorities in the south-east was in each of the last five years.

Nick Raynsford: The table shows the Personal Social Services Standard Spending Assessments/Formula Spending Share per head for each of the last five years for North East Lincolnshire and each of the unitary authorities in the south east, together with the average for unitary authorities in the south east.
	
		
			 Authority 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 North East Lincolnshire 162.17 171.91 178.53 185.52 221.11 
			 Isle of Wight 171.48 181.65 188.13 194.18 221.74 
			 Milton Keynes 132.00 167.60 142.32 146.03 196.45 
			 Brighton and Hove 196.70 203.57 207.60 209.90 241.83 
			 Portsmouth 180.33 187.73 192.98 194.91 237.43 
			 Southampton 180.74 189.58 194.37 198.59 238.75 
			 Bracknell Forest 122.36 127.64 130.62 133.99 176.71 
			 West Berkshire 103.86 108.03 112.95 116.26 161.94 
			 Reading 150.20 156.31 160.39 164.15 222.76 
			 Slough 187.14 194.09 201.41 203.10 248.25 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 118.71 125.50 131.32 134.57 184.30 
			 Wokingham 81.81 83.78 86.77 89.67 132.70 
			 Medway 133.41 137.83 143.17 146.54 179.97 
			 Average for South East Unitary Authorities 149.75 156.01 160.83 164.08 205.72 
		
	
	Formula Spending Shares are not grant, nor are they the Government's assessment of how much an authority should spend on a particular service, they are simply the formula used to calculate an authority's Revenue Support Grant. Funding for social services (as for all other services) is largely funded through redistributed business rates, Revenue Support Grant and council tax. The amount of funding each social service department receives is determined by the local authority taking into account local priorities. Revenue Support Grant is an unhypothecated block grant that may be spent on any service.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Automatic Punishment

Graham Allen: To ask the Solicitor-General what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the introduction of a pilot scheme to confer an automatic punishment on those found to have breached (a) bail orders and (b) other orders; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: I meet regularly with ministerial colleagues in the Home Office and the Department of Constitutional Affairs to discuss Criminal Justice System issues.
	Bail is a standing item on the agenda because we want to do more to ensure that defendants on bail (a) turn up when their case comes to court and (b) don't commit further offences while on bail.

Fly Tipping

Andrew Selous: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on her policy on prosecuting offences relating to fly tipping.

Harriet Harman: The Environment Agencies and local authorities are responsible for these prosecutions. There is no specific offence of fly tipping and offences are usually prosecuted as illegal disposal of waste contrary to Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
	There are challenges in prosecuting offences of fly tipping as, for example, it can be difficult to obtain the evidence necessary to prosecute. However, the government positively encourages prosecuting agencies to take strong enforcement action and prosecute offenders because fly-tipping is a serious environmental crime.

Exclusion Orders

Julia Drown: To ask the Solicitor-General what representations she has received on introducing the powers allowing for exclusion orders under section 40A of the Criminal Court (Sentencing) Act 2000.

Harriet Harman: I am aware that my hon. Friend raised this in debate following the Home Secretary's statement on the publication of the domestic violence consultation paper on the 18 June 2003 and that the Home Secretary undertook to write to her. I have received no representations on introducing the powers allowing for exclusion orders under Section 40A of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Ambition:Construction Programme

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have (a) been funded, (b) been trained and (c) started work having been trained by the Ambition:Construction programme since it was launched in 2001.

Des Browne: In 2001 we launched the Ambition initiative to help unemployed and disadvantaged people gain the right skills to meet the needs of employers in key sectors such as construction.
	Ambition:Construction has been operational since June 2002 with pilots currently running in six locations. Training is provided across the full range of building skills including bricklaying, roofing, plastering, joinery, glazing and painting and decorating. The aim of this training is to provide participants with the skills they need for a wide variety of jobs in the construction industry, including house building.
	By the end of May 2003, 775 people had been funded by Ambition:Construction. Most of the training courses on this programme last 6 months and so only 184 have so far completed training. Of those, 171 have obtained jobs.

Child Support Agency

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria determine the award of advance payments by the Child Support Agency in respect of arrears due to a parent with care.

Maria Eagle: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Huw Edwards, dated June 2003
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You ask what criteria determine the award of advance payments by the Child Support Agency in respect of arrears due to a parent with care.
	In essence there are six criteria;
	The arrears owed to the parent with care for the period of maladministration must be over 100 and the non resident parent must be making payments of regular maintenance at the current liable amount. He must also have made and be paying an arrears agreement and it would take longer than 26 weeks to clear these arrears. An interest payment will be made if the interest totals 10.00 or more
	There must be clear evidence that Agency maladministration resulted in a delay, which caused the arrears to accrue. Any delay in part or whole caused by the parent with care or non resident parent will not qualify for an advance payment.
	The Agency must, on the balance of probabilities, be satisfied that the non resident parent would have complied with the maintenance assessment had it not been for Agency maladministration
	The parent with care must have shown an interest in the progression of the case during the period of delay
	An allowance will be made for normal processing times in the calculation of the advance payment. Only time lapsed beyond this point will be considered as delay for payment purposes
	The parent with care must sign a declaration slip agreeing to the Agency retaining any arrears payments received from the non resident parent relating to the advance payment, or to refund any relevant direct payments.

Disabled People

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on recent charges in the management of advisory and support services offered by his Department to disabled people seeking employment.

Des Browne: Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) have a key role under Jobcentre Plus, both in providing direct support for those disabled people and employers who need their specialist expertise and in supporting other advisers. To ensure better integration with other services, DEAs are now the responsibility of Jobcentre Plus District Managers.
	In addition, our Green Paper "Pathways to Work" (CM 5690) outlined proposals to pilot new teams of specialist advisers to support those on incapacity benefits, building upon best practice within Jobcentre Plus. Existing DEAs will form the core the new teams, which will be able to maintain good contact with clients through a series of early and on-going work-focused interviews, and facilitate better referrals to new and existing provision.

Disabled People

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to increase funding by social enterprises to help more disabled people obtain labour market placements and longer term employment; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Department does not give any direct funding to social enterprises. However, social enterprises can act as Providers of Jobcentre Plus programmes.
	The Social Enterprise Unit, which is based in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), provides the focal point for strategic decision-making on social enterprise across Government. The Unit is in DTI in recognition of the contribution that social enterprises can make to the business landscape in the UK, and to the nation's economy, through their enterprise, innovation, competitiveness and social inclusivity.

Job Creation

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has commissioned analyses to ascertain what kinds of jobs are being created in the United Kingdom.

Des Browne: We have not commissioned analyses to ascertain what kinds of jobs are being created in the United Kingdom. However, information from the Workforce Jobs series shows that the number of jobs has increased across a wide range of sectors since 1997. These increases are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Sector Increase in job numbers (March 1997–March 2003) 
		
		
			 Finance and Business Services 826,000 
			 Public administration, Education and Health 714,000 
			 Distribution, Hotels and Restaurants 387,000 
			 Other Services 231,000 
			 Construction 201,000 
			 Transport and Communications 186,000 
		
	
	Source:
	Workforce Jobs

Job Creation

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs created in the UK in the past 12 months can be characterised as enduring for longer than one year.

Des Browne: The number of jobs created in the UK in the past 12 months which can be characterised as enduring for longer than one year is not available. However, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) shows that 94 per cent. of people in work are in permanent jobs. In the last year the number of people in permanent jobs rose by 105,000, while the number of people in temporary jobs fell by 23,000. The LFS also shows that 81 per cent. of those currently in work have been continuously employed for more than one year, up 1 per cent. from the same quarter last year.

Job Creation

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the jobs created in the UK in the last five years are characterised as (a) skilled and (b) semi-skilled.

Des Browne: The information requested is not available. However, changes in the level of employment over time by skill level are collected as part of the Labour Force Survey. Latest figures are in the table. The definition of occupational classifications was changed in 2001 so it not possible to provide comparable data for earlier years.
	
		
			 Major occupation group(main job) 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Higher skilled employment 10,821,051 11,187,179 
			 Mid skilled employment 8,858,373 8,784,692 
			 Lower skilled employment 7,723,923 7,673,457 
		
	
	Source:
	Labour Force Survey

Employers' Liability Insurance

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of the review of Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 16 June 2003
	The costs of the EL Review principally comprised internal staffing costs within DWP and publication costs. No consultants were engaged.
	Estimated staffing costs for the review team within DWP were: £88,575. The cost of publication of the review in English was £16,178. The (estimated) cost of publication of the review in Welsh is £7,864.
	These were redistributed resources within the Department and not additional costs.

Leaflet BC1

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) social security offices and (b) job centres have the October 2002 edition of leaflet BC1 in stock; and how many hospitals give the October 2002 edition of the leaflet BC1 to new parents.

Des Browne: The October 2002 edition of leaflet BCI was superseded on 7 April 2003 by the current edition.
	All social security offices, Jobcentres and Jobcentre Plus offices are notified of the production of new versions of leaflets on the Department's Electronic Re-ordering System. This notification advises offices to destroy old stocks and replace them with the new version of a leaflet.
	The information requested on hospitals is not available. Those hospitals that have joined the Department's publicity register receive a catalogue of leaflets in April and an update in October enabling them to update their stocks of leaflets. Free copies of leaflets can also be ordered through the publicity register, or collected from our offices, Post Offices, Citizen's Advice Bureaux. Copies can also be printed from the Department's website.

Ministerial Responsibilities

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the responsibilities of each Minister in his Department.

Andrew Smith: The information is as follows.
	The right hon. Andrew Smith MP
	Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
	The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for all work and pension matters as well as public expenditure issues.
	Malcolm Wicks MP
	Minister of State for Pensions
	Pensions Overview
	Pensions Legislation
	Pensions Green Paper Package
	Pension Credit
	The Pension Service
	Older People
	Age Discrimination
	Winter Fuel Payments
	Basic Pension
	SERPS/ State second pension
	MIG
	Stakeholder Pensions
	Regulatory Reform
	Third Age Service
	Des Browne MP Minister of State for Work
	Employers (inc. National Employment Panels)
	Employment Zones
	Jobcentre Plus
	Labour Market & Economy
	Employment Strategy for Ethnic Minorities (Strategy Unit Report Lead)
	Welfare to Work Overview
	New Deal 25+
	New Deal for Disabled People
	New Deal for Lone Parents
	New Deal for Partners
	New Deal for Young People
	Rapid Response Service
	Adult Disadvantage
	Industrial Injuries
	Compensation Recovery
	Links with DfES
	New Deal 50+
	Health and Safety Executive/ Health and Safety Commission
	E-Government
	Maria Eagle MP
	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Commons)
	Incapacity Benefit
	Disability Discrimination Act
	Disability Rights Task Force
	Disability Legislation
	Remploy
	Workstep
	Disability Living Allowance/Attendance Allowance
	Access to Work (Job Match)
	Motability/Specialised Vehicle Fund (SVF)
	Disability Rights Commission
	Carers/Long Term Care
	Carers Allowance
	Vaccine Damage Payments
	DWP Input to Veterans'
	Taskforce
	Independent Living Funds
	Civil Partnerships
	Single Equality Body
	Commons Lead on:
	Human Rights
	Freedom of Information
	Appeals and Adjudication
	Maternity/Paternity pay
	Asylum/Migration
	Chris Pond MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Commons)
	Housing Benefit
	Council Tax Benefit
	Bereavement Benefit
	International Relations
	European Union Business
	Social Fund
	Debt Management Policy
	Fraud
	Methods of Payment Reform
	The Euro
	Income Support (Working Age)
	Jobseekers Allowance
	Better Letters
	Better Buildings
	Pensions Legislation (support)
	Commons Lead on:
	Child Support Agency
	Poverty and Social Exclusion
	Green Issues
	Right Hon. Baroness Hollis of Heigham
	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lords)
	All issues in the Lords
	Child Support
	Child Support Agency
	Maternity/Paternity pay
	Diversity
	Asylum/Migration
	Green Issues
	Poverty and Social Exclusion
	Opportunity for All
	Rural Affairs
	New Deal for communities
	Appeals and Adjudication
	Appeals Service
	Freedom of Information
	Data Protection
	Human Rights
	Devolution
	Research & Statistics
	Civil Partnerships
	Tax Credits
	Baroness Ashton of Upholland
	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lords)
	Cathy Ashton is a joint DfES/DWP Minister. Her specific responsibilities are:
	Sure Start
	Early Years and Childcare
	Special Educational Needs

New Deal

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) target population, (b) total expenditure in the last financial year and (c) the average cost of a job placement were for the (i) New Deal for Lone Parents, (ii) the New Deal for Young People and (iii) the New Deal for Disabled People.

Des Browne: New deal for lone parents (NDLP) is open to all lone parents who are not working or who are working fewer than 16 hours a week. New deal for young people (NDYP) is aimed at people aged 18–24 who have been claiming jobseeker's allowance continuously for 6 months. New deal for disabled people (NDDP) is a voluntary programme aimed at people claiming incapacity or disability benefits.
	Information on expenditure for 2002–03 is in the table.
	
		Forecast expenditure 2002–03
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 New deal for lone parents 80 
			 New deal for young people 339 
			 New deal for disabled people 27 
		
	
	Source:
	Departmental Report 2002–03
	In 2000 we estimated that the average cost of a young person moving into work through the NDYP was around £4,000. Independent evaluation of the prototype phase of NDLP found that the cost per participant moving into work was £1,388. A cost benefit analysis of the National NDLP programme is due to be published shortly. Equivalent estimates of cost per job are not yet available for NDDP.

New Deal

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals have completed European Computer Diving Licence qualification while on New Deal placement.

Des Browne: Information on the achievement of qualifications by New Deal participants is not collected on a national basis.
	Information on qualifications held and subsequently achieved through New Deal is recorded and monitored by New Deal Personal Advisers on an individual basis at local level. However, information at national level could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

New Deal

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on procedures for assessment of training quality of New Deal placements;
	(2)  how many providers of New Deal placements have had placements cancelled due to ineffective training or poor employment practises.

Des Browne: New Deal providers are subject to thorough contractual and quality audits. Individual contract reviews are conducted by Jobcentre Plus Field Contracts Managers and District Programme Quality Management Teams. Reviews assess the administration, delivery, quality and propriety of the provision being delivered against the requirements set out in providers' contracts.
	In addition, the Adult Learning Inspectorate in England, and ESTYN in Wales, play a pivotal role in the quality assurance of New Deal provision, under the provisions of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. All inspection under the provisions of the Act is carried out in accordance with the Common Inspection Framework. The framework focuses on the learner, and on evaluating the effectiveness of education and training in meeting all learners' needs.
	The information requested on the volume of providers who have had placements cancelled due to ineffective training or poor employment practices is not available as Jobcentre Plus does not collate this information on a national basis.

New Deal

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of those on each option of the New Deal for Young People have entered sustained employment in the East Riding of Yorkshire since the scheme began; and how many entered sustained employment in the last (a) year and (b) quarter for which figures are available.

Des Browne: In the latest quarter for which information is available (January to March 2003) 20 young people left the New Deal Options for unsubsidised, sustained jobs in the East Riding authority area. This is 24 per cent. of all leavers from the Options in that period. Due to the small volumes involved, figures for individual New Deal Options for the latest quarter cannot be published because of the risk of identifying individuals.
	The information requested on the New Deal for Young People since the programme began, and in the last year, is in the table:
	
		
			 New Deal Option Numbers entering unsubsidised sustained employment(4) Numbers of Leavers(4) Proportion of leavers entering unsubsidised sustained employment(5) 
		
		
			 Employment
			 April 1998-March 2003 280 500 55.9 
			 April 2002-March 2003 40 110 36.3 
			 
			 Education and Training
			 April 1998-March 2003 230 610 38.1 
			 April 2002-March 2003 40 100 38.1 
			 
			 Voluntary Sector
			 April 1998-March 2003 100 240 39.8 
			 April 2002-March 2003 20 50 39.6 
			 
			 Environment Task Force
			 April 1998-March 2003 110 290 39.1 
			 April 2002-March 2003 30 60 50.0 
		
	
	(4) All figures are rounded to the nearest 10
	(5) Proportions are based on unrounded numbers. Therefore these figures cannot be derived from the rounded figures used in the table

New Deal

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Paul Holmes), Official Report, column 925W, how many people on the education and training option of the New Deal for Young People have gained a qualification in each of the last five years.

Des Browne: Information on qualifications achieved through the New Deal for Young People is recorded and monitored by New Deal Personal Advisers on an individual basis at local level but it is not collected centrally and a national figure could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. While achievement of qualifications is an important element in the development and employability of young people, the success of the programme is measured through the number of Young People helped into work. This measure clearly shows that the New Deal is working as it has helped over 425,000 young people find work.

Pension Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will issue guidance to local authorities discouraging them from reassessing pensioners' housing benefit entitlement in October 2003 until payments of pension credit have come on stream.

Malcolm Wicks: The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/325), which will complement the introduction of state pension credit, come into force on 6 October 2003.
	At that date, local authorities will reassess existing housing benefit and council tax benefit claims to reflect the increased applicable amounts payable to all pensioners aged 65 and over and the more generous rules on the treatment of assumed income from capital. Where pension credit must be taken into account as an income in the housing benefit or council tax benefit assessment, no case can be reassessed until the pension credit is in payment and the Pension Service has notified the local authority of the award.

Stress

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of workers suffering from stress and (b) the resultant financial cost.

Des Browne: In England and Wales in 2001–02 approximately 563,000 people reported suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety. The costs of Work-related Stress were last estimated in 1995–06 at £353–381 million to UK business and £33.7 to £33.8 billion to society (1995–06 prices) 1 .
	1 Taken from the Self-reported Work-related III Health Surveys (SWI). It should be noted that these estimates are based on a number of assumptions and are intended to be broadly indicative.

Unemployment

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the factors influencing unemployment levels over the last three months; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Recent labour market developments reflect continued steady growth in employment, up by 51,000 in the last three months and 242,000 over the last year. The increase in employment has been matched by a rise in the labour force brought about by population growth and higher activity rates. As a result unemployment has been broadly flat, though it has been fluctuating from month to month around this flat trend.
	ILO unemployment currently stands at 1.495 million. The ILO unemployment rate is 5.1 per cent., up 0.1 percentage points in the last three months, but down by the same amount over the last year. The number of unemployed claimants is 950,800. The claimant unemployment rate is 3.1 per cent. and has been unchanged at this level since December 2001.
	The Government's approach is based on macro-economic stability combined with active labour market measures to help jobless people, particularly the most disadvantaged, get back into work. Steady economic growth and policies such as New Deal have contributed to a rise of 1.5 million in the number of people in work since 1997, while long-term unemployment has fallen by 75 per cent. to a historically low level.

Voluntary Organisations

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding programmes are operated by his Department to support voluntary organisations working with young people; and what the level of support has been over the last three years.

Des Browne: The Department funds contracts, directly and indirectly with a number of voluntary organisations to deliver the support available through the New Deal Programmes, including New Deal for Young People. Information is not available on the exact level of support made through these channels.
	Each Government Department produces a Learning to Listen Action Plan every year. This year's plan for the Department for Work and Pensions will be published online shortly. Learning to Listen is the embodiment of our commitment to engaging with children and young people pursuant to creating effective policies.
	We strongly believe in listening to the voices of children and young people. Recent examples of our commitment in this area are the varied consultations held with children and young people during the measuring child poverty consultation and the visit to DWP of the UK Youth Parliament.
	As part of celebrating the European Year of Disabled People, the Department is funding 167 projects in the voluntary sector, which aim to promote disability issues in a positive light. Many of these projects do include young people as participants or beneficiaries. In the 2002–03 financial year, we provided some £1,130,000 of Government funding to these projects. We plan to provide some £630,000 of Government funds and £550,000 of EC funds over the next two years.

Welfare-to-Work Targets

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received regarding the Government's welfare to work targets.

Des Browne: The Department has not received any representations regarding the Government's welfare to work targets.

Workplace Health and Safety

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average period of time is between visits to places of employment by health and safety inspectors in England and Wales.

Des Browne: HSE's operational directorates and divisions deal with a wide range of workplaces, both fixed and transient, across several employment sectors. This requires HSE to adopt different approaches based on understanding of hazards and risks and the performance of duty holders. Higher risk sites and high hazard sites where there is potential for catastrophic events are visited more frequently than lower risk sites which might be visited infrequently. The lowest risk sites might be contacted through other means than visits such as seminars and mailshots.
	In addition, local authorities have inspection responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for approximately 1.2 million premises in the retail, finance and leisure sectors.. Intervention strategies are based on assessments of intrinsic hazard and risk and judgments about the competence and willingness of duty holders to control risks and comply with the law. Intervals between visits will vary substantially between sectors and between duty holders within each sector. For these reasons it is not possible to provide a meaningful average for the frequency of visits.